The MOTHERS Act is a bill to shove psychotropic drugs down the throats
of pregnant and new mothers considered at risk of Postpartum
Depression and Psychosis, as well as funnel them into the hospital
setting to "prevent" suicide or infanticide, where they will
potentially be subjected to electroshock and involuntary or extensive
hospitalization like Melanie Stokes - for whom the bill was
(ironically) named. [Theoretically all mothers are considered 'at
risk.'] The screening will consist of an invalid and unethical
questionnaire consisting of as few as 2-3 subjective items...
Also the bill states that it will establish new research projects on
minorities, use tax dollars to develop new drugs, and study
post-abortion depression and mental illness.

Despite claims that this is a bill for research to find a "cure," the
research already being done at the NIH will be simply expanded and
intensified. What have they done to help us so far? I'm aware of
nothing useful. And on top of that, when Lilly came up with a safer
derivative of Prozac (difluoxetine) they failed to market it.
Presumably they wouldn't want to market one that causes less suicide
according to the patent application. Maybe that one is for their
employees. Who knows.

The new things in the bill are: mandatory screening and referral of
women, in violation of their Constitutional rights to freedom and
privacy and life. And there is talk of police involvement with
officers reporting that they are being told they may need to deal with
this down the road when / if it passes. Postpartum Support
International also has people trained and ready to start enforcing the
law if it passes.

There is nothing in the bill to ensure the right to opt out of
screening or treatment, no provision for real medical testing for
actual physical problems that cause depressive symptoms, and no
education on alternatives or prevention. The law would deprive an
entire nation of mothers of their right to informed consent, putting
the lives of our mothers and children at risk. Quite simply put, The
MOTHERS Act risks our future and our freedom, and will undoubtedly
lead to more preventable deaths if it is allowed to pass.

Drugs given to pregnant women cause spontaneous abortions,
stillbirths, preterm births, fatal birth defects, PPHN, cardiac
defects, etc. And to nursing moms they can cause the baby to have
seizures, coma, SIDS, etc. Plus they double the rate of suicide and
cause homicidal ideation.

Sign the petition: http://www.thepetit ionsite.com/ 1/stop-the-
dangerous- and-invasive- mothers-act

Info links:

1) http://christiannewswire.com/ news/425397285. html

Babies at Risk as Reid Spikes Omnibus Package with Psychotropic
'MOTHERS Act

WASHINGTON, July 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- Senate majority leader
Harry Reid (D – NV) has slipped a controversial bill calledThe MOTHERS
Act into an omnibus package called "Advancing America's Priorities
Act" (S. 3297) which is scheduled for a vote...

2) http://christiannewswire.com/ news/373117355. html

Mothers Tell Harry Reid to Read Up On FDA Antidepressant WarningsThe
FDA has issued 25 warnings on antidepressants ranging from the suicide
risk to cautions against use during pregnancy...

STUDIES:

Warnings/Studies Showing Risks Associated with Antidepressants and
Pregnant Women or New Mothers: There is ample evidence to support the
risks associated with placing pregnant or new mothers on antidepres
sant drugs:

September 7, 2005: The Australian Therapeut ic Goods Administration
issued an information sheet to health professionals warning that SSRI
use—especially Paxil—in early pregnancy could cause congenital heart
abnormalities in newborns.[i]

September 27, 2005: The FDA and GlaxoSmith Kline issued a warning
that pregnant women taking Paxil or other antidepressants during their
first trimester of pregnancy, placed their newborns at increased risk
of major congenital [defect at birth] and cardiovascular [heart]
malformations at birth for those mothers taking Paxil. [ii]

February 2006: The New England Journal of Medicine published a study
indicating that mothers taking SSRI antidepressants after the 20th
week of pregnancy were six times more likely to give birth to an
infant with a serious heart defect than mothers not taking SSRI
antidepressants.

March 10, 2006: Health Canada issued a warning that SSRIs and other
newer antidepressants when taken by pregnant women placed newborns at
risk of developing a rare lung and heart condition.[iii]

June 2006: An Archives of General Psychiatry study found women who
take antidepressants during pregnancy risk giving birth to children
with respiratory problems.[iv]

July 19, 2006: The FDA warned of the risk of a fatal lung condition
in newborns whose mothers took SSRIs during pregnancy. The agency
added it was seeking more information about persistent pulmonary
hypertension in newborns from the drugs. It asked drug makers to list
the potential risk on their drug labels.[v]

November 2006: The journal Epidemiology published a study entitled
“Maternal Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Risk of
Congenital Malformations.” The study was done by researchers from
Aarhus University which is a university in Denmark and it found that
pregnant women who take the newer type of antidepressants,
antidepressants in the same class as Prozac, are more likely to have
babies with birth defects than mothers who donÂ’t take these drugs.[vi]

August 2007: The American Journal of Psychiatry published a study in
August 2007, which determined that antidepressant use during pregnancy
was associated with premature births.[vii]

The Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR), states: “Like many other drugs,
paroxetine [chemical name for the antidepressant Paxil] is secreted in
human milk, and caution should be exercised when PaxilÂ…is administered
to a nursing woman.”

A shocking 13%% of 60 newborns exposed to SSRIs showed severe symptoms
of withdrawal upon birth.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) has been found in infants of
mothers taking SSRIs during pregnancy, making the transition from
breathing inside the womb to normal breathing after delivery
difficult, often requiring a ventilator due to respiratory failure.
Research has found that SSRIs accumulate in the adult's lungs and
serotonin can cause the proliferation of certain muscle cells. This
may possibly explain the drug's effect on the fetus. Approximately
10-20%% of babies born with this condition do not survive.

FDAÂ’s MedWatch System Already Has Overwhelming Evidence of
Spontaneous Abortions, Premature Babies and Birth Defects from SSRI
Antidepressants:

Doctors, other healthcare providers, pharmacists, lawyers, and
consumers filed the following adverse drug reaction reports with the
FDAÂ’s MedWatch system over a 3-year period (2004-2007) concerning
pregnant women taking the newer Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitor(SSRI) antidepressants (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa,
Lexapro, etc.)

It is important to note that in all these cases, antidepressants were
cited as the primary suspected drug to cause the adverse reaction: 145
spontaneous abortions; 150 premature babies; 208 babies born with
heart disease; 218 babies born with defects.

However, by their own admission, the FDA only receives 1-10%% of the
actual adverse drug reaction reports. Using this data, it is more
likely that pregnant women in the U.S. taking antidepressants has
resulted in:

480 to 4,800 spontaneous abortions each year

500 to 5,000 premature babies each year

690 to 6,900 babies born with heart disease each year

730 to 7,300 babies born with other birth defects each year

Selected SSRI Antidepressant Studies/Warnings After Melanie StokesÂ’
2001 Suicide:

March 22, 2004: The FDA warned that Prozac-like antidepressants
(SSRIs) could cause “anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia,
irritability, hostility, impulsivity, akathisia [severe restlessness]
, hypomania [abnormal excitement] and mania [psychosis characterized
by exalted feelings, delusions of grandeur].”

February 18, 2005: A study conducted at the Ottawa Health Research
Institute and published in the British Medical Journaldetermined that
adults taking SSRI antidepressants were more than twice as likely to
attempt suicide as patients given placebo.[viii]

June 30, 2005: The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory entitled
“Suicidality in Adults Being Treated with AntidepressantM edications,”
that there could be an increased risk of suicidal behavior in adults
taking antidepressants. It recommended that physicians monitor adults
who took antidepressants for suicidal tendencies.[ix]

August 4, 2005: The Australian Therapeut ic Goods Administration
published an Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin reporting evidence
supporting an association between SSRI use and “new onset of
suicidality” in adults.[x]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[i] “Information for health professionals concerning the use of SSRI
antidepressants in pregnant women,” Australian Therapeut ic Goods
Administration,” 7 Sept. 2005.
[ii] “Important Prescribing Information,” Letter to healthcare
professionals by GlaxoSmithKline, Sept. 2005; Miranda Hitti, “New
Study Links Paxil to Twice as Many Birth Defects as Other
Antidepressants,” WebMD Medical News, 27 Sept. 2005.
[iii] Health Canada Advisory, “Newer antidepressants linked to serious
lung disorder in newborns,” 10 Mar. 2006.
[iv] Tim F. Oberlander, MD, FRCPC; William Warburton, PhD; Shaila
Misri, MD, FRCPC;

Jaafar Aghajanian, BSc; Clyde Hertzman, MSc, MD, FRCPC, “Neonatal
Outcomes After Prenatal Exposure to Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitor Antidepres sants and Maternal Depression

Using Population-Based Linked Health Data, Archives of General
Psychiatry, 2006;63:898- 906.
[v] “Antidepressants should list new risks: FDA,” Reuters, 19 July
2006.
[vi] Wogelius, Pia, Nørgaard, Mette, Gislum, Mette, Pedersen, Lars,
Munk, Estrid, et.al. “Maternal Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitors and Risk of Congenital Malformations,” Epidemiology,
November 2006, Volume 17, Number 6.
[vii] Rita Suri, M.D., Lori Altshuler, M.D., Gerhard Hellemann, Ph.D.,
Vivien K. Burt, M.D., Ph.D., Ana Aquino, B.S., Jim Mintz, Ph.D.,
“Effects of Antenatal [pre-birth] Depression and Antidepressant
Treatment on Gestational Age at Birth and Risk of Preterm Birth,”
American Journal of Psychiatry, 164:1206-1213, August 2007.
[viii] “Drug Raise Risk of Suicide; Analysis of Data Adds to Concerns
on Antidepressants,” The Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2005.
[ix] “Suicidality in Adults Being Treated with Antidepressant
Medications,” FDA Public Health Advisory, 30 June 2004.
[x]“Suicidality with SSRIs: adults and children,” The Australian
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin,
Col 24, No. 4, Aug. 2005, p. 14.