Posts Tagged ‘parental rights’

Google Subscribe Button MyYahoo! Subscribe Button Windows Live Subscribe Button RSS 2.0 Web Feed Subscribe Button

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Stop the Mother’s Act!

Over 9,000 individuals across the United States and around the world have signed this petition to stop The MOTHERS Act, a screening and treatment bill which will increase the number of pregnant and new mothers taking psychotropic drugs.

Please consider the following four points of contention with regard to this bill:

1) The MOTHERS Act will assuredly increase prescriptions for antidepressants for both postpartum and pregnant mothers. Based on the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Events Reporting System data, over the past four years the estimated number of antidepressant-caused infant deaths and injuries was as follows:

4,360 babies born with serious or life-threatening birth defects

4,160 babies born with potentially fatal heart defects or heart disease

2,900 spontaneous abortions

3,000 premature births

2) New Jersey’s 2006 Postpartum Depression law requires medical providers to screen women for mental disorders. Under the impetus of this new law, some New Jersey women were forcibly taken to hospitals in police cars from their homes or doctor’s offices for simply mentioning depressed feelings or calling the state’s PPD hotline. (See full text of the Star-Ledger article at http://www.netpowwow.com/unite011109/ppdcriminals.htm.)

3) The namesake of the bill is Melanie Blocker Stokes, a mother who jumped to her death from the 12th story of a Chicago hotel at 3 ½ months postpartum, following months of treatment including four hospitalizations, at least four different drug cocktails, and electroshock therapy. Only after she was treated with drugs documented by the FDA to cause suicidal ideation, did she jump out of that window.

4) Numerous victims have spoken out against this bill, including many who currently have pending lawsuits against drug companies for deaths and birth defects. In addition, there are literally thousands of antidepressant birth defects and suicide lawsuits pending. States are suing drug manufacturers for illegal marketing of psychotropic drugs, and the State of Alaska is being sued for drugging children in state care. If the Federal Government sponsors another drugging program, it is simply asking for lawsuits to be filed, as more mothers are injured and more babies killed.

What could possibly justify the risks that The MOTHERS Act poses to unborn babies and their mothers? Please speak out and ask the 111th Congress not to be the group to pass this bill to increase infant deaths via fatal birth defects and unwanted, drug-induced spontaneous abortions. Considering the many lives of helpless unborn babies at stake, we must all UNITE to STOP this legislation.

 

Organizations currently trying to stop The MOTHERS Act include:

ICFDA: International Coalition For Drug Awareness; The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights; ICSPP: International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology; NARPA: National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy; AHRP: The Alliance for Human Research Protection; COPES: Coalition Of Parents Enduring Suicide; The Elizabeth Torlakson Foundation; CHAADA: Children and Adults Against Drugging America; MADNAP: Mothers Against Drugging the Nursing And Pregnant; Consumer Wellness Center; Parents for a Label and Drug Free Education; Texans for a Safe Education; Whitaker Health Freedom Foundation; WoodyMatters; www.wildestcolts.com Supporters; www.adhdfraud.com Supporters; AbleChild; Green Body and Mind; LifeDynamics; Global Suckling Initiative; babywhys.org Supporters; The Wellness Institute.

 

For more information read current research concerning the dangers of drugs for all people, especially unborn and newborn babies at http://uniteforlife.org/. There you can learn more about the FDA-confirmed doubling of suicides on antidepressant drugs as well as the tremendous risks for unborn children, including spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth, serious and often fatal heart and lung disorders in newborns, SIDS, and numerous other effects including inducing violence against others.

Furthermore, please conduct an investigation into antidepressant drugs and consider passing a ban on any future government-endorsed mental health screening or psychiatric drug promotion efforts, as well as banning government funding for development of new antidepressant drugs. This is an issue which occupies far too many people’s times and does much more damage than good. Look for yourself and do your home-work!

Petitions:

SIGN NOW!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-dangerous-and-invasive-mothers-act

http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/view?pid=147503883

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Home Schooling and Parental Rights

I am close on an upsetting legal case of injustice regarding a woman stripped of her rights to home-school her own children, and she was doing so rather successfully! I myself home-schooled my own three children at a time in their lives and it was something I am thrilled to know and say I did, as well as successfully.

Home schooling is a parental right, and something that I feel very strongly about. Most home-schooled kids these days are schooled by their mothers as an option chosen over sending them to public or even the finest private schools. There are many arrangements in most cities and organizations to properly support and fulfill the needs of this arrangement and to give an enriched and high quality education.

In this upsetting legal case,  a mother had been successfully home schooling her children (and the children are testing above their respective grade levels), and they are now being court-ordered to be taken away from this stable environment and placed in a public school setting. Apparently this was a court order that was based on the father’s request.

However, whether the father requests it or not, it’s violating to have a judge take away a mother’s right to choose how she educates her children – both in terms of academics and religion.  This should be a parental decision; not the legal system’s decision.

Further to this, what about what’s in the best interest of the children?  When you look at

each child as an individual and what kind of educational environment they thrive in, it’s

very clear that many kids do extremely well in a home-school setting. The HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) lists out some incredibly useful information on statistics and success rates of home-schooled children.

When it comes down to it, the bottom line is that it’s essential that the home environment be the haven to make these choices and to  exercise the right to choose what is in the best interest of the children, and this legal case is a saddening example of how this basic right is being violated. The children’s best interests are not being considered at all.

You can help this case! As a woman, mother and someone who cares about the children in our society, it is vital we do not allow cases like this to go ignored. One case like this slip through and soon many more can poke their ugly head up. This can sets a precedent for more to come, and soon things become generalized and we could be confronted with NO MORE HOME SCHOOLING, as the worst case scenario.

Please share your views about this as I do care to know your feedback, opinions and successes or losses with home-schooling.

Please visit the blog below and find out how you can help a mother to retain her rights.http://www.hsinjustice.com/2009/03/action-steps.htm

Add to FacebookAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.usAdd to StumbleuponAdd to RedditAdd to BlinklistAdd to TwitterAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Yahoo BuzzAdd to Newsvine