Under legislation now pending before Congress, every man, woman and child in America will eventually be required to undergo psychological screenings for mental health run by the government. Participation will be mandatory, and any citizen judged deficient will be subject to forced drugging by the state.

     The program is part of President Bush's "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health." Some $44 million in initial funding is included in a massive, omnibus "must pass" appropriations bill now pending before Congress. As you might expect, the pending law has the whole-hearted support of the pharmaceutical industry.

     How bad is this bill? As the conservative web site, NewsMax.com, reports, the bill "includes funding for grants to implement universal mental health screening for almost 60 million children, pregnant women, and adults through schools and preschools." And that's just the first step. (Dave Eberhart, "Doctors Group Opposes Mandatory Mental Tests for Kids," NewsMax.com, 11-11-04.)

     This ominous, authoritarian legislation will vastly increase the federal government's control over the lives of everyone in America, and sadly it will likely pass – unless there is massive public opposition. The consequences could well be tragic for millions of Americans.

     Some 4 million children are already given the powerful psycho-active drug Ritalin, in many cases against their parent's wishes. Parents who have tried to take their children off Ritalin have been threatened with loss of custody of their children and imprisonment for "child abuse" – even when Ritalin has dulled their children's minds, made them suicidal, or had other debilitating effects.

     Now Big Brother is going after the entire U.S. population. As Rep. Ron Paul (R, TX) warns: "Once the limited federal program is accepted, it will be expanded nationwide. Once in place throughout the country, the screening program will become mandatory."

     "Soviet communists attempted to paint all opposition to the state as mental illness. It now seems our own federal government wants to create a therapeutic nanny state, beginning with schoolchildren."

     "American parents must do everything they can to remain responsible for their children's well-being. If we allow government to become intimately involved with our children’s minds and bodies, we will have lost the final vestiges of parental authority. Strong families are the last line of defense against an overreaching bureaucratic state."

     About the only thing that can stop this Soviet-style legislation from becoming law in America, is massive public opposition. Contact your representatives now.

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