October
11, 2004
Press
Release
Patricia
Weathers, 845-677-8115
President
& Founder
Sheila
Matthews 203-966-8419
National
Vice President & Co-Founder
Psychiatrist
Blames Bad Gene Pool for Massive
Does
this indicate the Resurgence of Eugenics in
America?
On
October 4, 2004 in a Texas Committee hearing on Psychotropic Drugs and Foster
Care Children, human and children rights advocates were stunned when
psychiatrist, Joe Burkett, informed the committee that one of the main reasons
so many foster kids need to be on psychotropic drugs is “they are very sick,
from a Bad Gene pool”. Another
psychiatrist, Dr.Sargent, re-emphasized how very sick these kids are, and how
these children’s brains are wired differently, requiring them to receive
“expert” psychiatric care.
“This
Bad Gene Pool” and “sickness” belief system is very alarming to many child
right advocates who look to find effective, healthy, non-drug solutions for
children in state care; children who more than likely have experienced trauma
and stress within their environment and have had natural reactions to such.
John Breeding, founder of Texans for Safe Education and author of “The
Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses”, and “True Nature and Great
Misunderstandings” testified before the committee.
Dr. Breeding challenged the Bad Gene Pool theory.
“That is just not true. Once
we label these children, we stop thinking of strategies to help them succeed and
master the coping skills needed in society.”
Dr. Breeding called for a seven-step approach to reform, which would
include strengthening informed consent laws, thereby increasing the likelihood
that accurate information regarding the subjective nature of the diagnoses,
being all too eagerly assigned to children placed in state care, is given to
childcare providers. This would
also ensure that state childcare providers given all the information, would be
less likely to discount the overwhelming risks associated with drug
“treatment”.
Texas
is not the first state that has initiated hearings, investigations, and
litigation regarding widespread abuse, which includes the rampant drugging of
children within state foster care.
·
Massachusetts
just this year launched an investigation into tracking how many of its children
in state care are on psychiatric drugs. http://www.ablechild.org/newsarchive/prevalence_of_drugs_for_dss_ward%208-9-04.htm.
·
Washington,
California, Illinois, and Florida are just some of the other states that have
tackled the overall systemic abuse as well. http://www.ablechild.org/newsarchive/a%20critical%20look%20at%20the%20foster%20care%204-16-98.htm.
http://www.ablechild.org/newsarchive/use_of_drugs_to_control_kids_worries%20specialists%207-23-04.htm.
· Last year, Connecticut was the first state to actually ban the use of two unapproved antidepressants on children in state care. http://ablechild.org/press%20release/Ablechild%20wins%20request%207-16-03.htm
What
is quite clear from this is that children in the foster care system nationwide
are clearly unprotected on a human rights level, and with current “bad gene
pool/sickness” ideology being spread publicly, there is little hope that the
current nationwide crisis within state foster care programs will get any better.
Two
psychiatrists spouting comments regarding “bad genes” is alarming to say the
least, but what is more disturbing is the unanswered question: Does this
indicate that the American Psychiatric Association condones such ideology?
If so, is any hope lying ahead for children remanded into state care?
Or, are these children designated “human research subjects” for
popular and profitable drug “treatments”?
Ideology espousing concepts of “bad genes” and inferiority among
humans based on characteristics bares a striking resemblance to the science of
Eugenics that deals with the improvement of races and breeds, especially the
human race, through the control of hereditary factors.
We can recall that Hitler employed this same ideology in Nazi Germany.
What many do not recall however is that it was also used in our country
in the early 20th century within mental asylums when experimentations
were conducted on people deemed an inferior sect of human beings.
This
mindset contrasts sharply with our country’s founded principals of democracy,
which espouses that all men are created equal.
Ablechild’s
National Vice President, Ms. Sheila Matthews stated that, “This Bad Gene
Pool” comment is very damning to the entire psychiatric industry and should
send a wake up call to all America! These
children are clearly vulnerable and are fair game for drug research, with no
accountability whatsoever. All who care for children should be distraught at
this public display of disregard for these children’s health and safety.”
For more information regarding foster care abuse, mental health and children, please visit us at www.ablechild.org