Setting The Record Straight on the "Mothers Act"

by Amy Philo

May 21, 2008

"You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do"

lyrics from "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan

Elise Young, reporter for The Record, a New Jersey paper, recently
published an article on a federal bill called The MOTHERS Act, which
was so far south of balanced journalism that it would more
appropriately be categorized as an ad for the psycho/pharmaceutical
industry. It certainly was not an unbiased look at the very strong and
widespread opposition to the bill based on valid criticisms. No, this
reporter was more interested in a puff piece for the Psycho/Pharma
cartel complete with the standard (and very tired old line) that the
only possible opposition to a bill which would increase the number of
new mothers being put on antidepressant drugs documented by the US FDA
to cause mania, psychosis, worsening depression, suicidal and
homicidal tendencies would be...that's right... the Scientologists.
For no other American would possibly be concerned that the bill was
originally named after a new mother by the name of Melanie Stokes, who
after being diagnosed with postpartum depression, put on a cocktail of
psychiatric drugs, hospitalized and then electroshocked- in other
words "treated" in the mental health system -- committed suicide.

Judging from his comments in this article, US Senator Robert Menendez
of New Jersey apparently cares more about revenue for the businesses
in his state than he does about the Constitution or the citizens who
will be put in danger if this bill passes the Senate (most of the
worldÂ’s pharmaceutical companies are located in New Jersey). No
attention has been paid in this article to those already harmed by the
New Jersey version of this PPD law, which has been used to justify the
police-forced transport of mothers to psychiatric hospitals.

The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act states that PPD is treatable if
attended to with medication. It provides grants to those who will help
ensure that all women considered at risk for depression (including
pregnant women) are referred to mental health care providers and in
some cases, prophylactically drugged or hospitalized.

Pharmaceutical sales manager Melanie Stokes was abused to death in
2001 by our mental health system with four successive cocktails of
prescribed antidepressant, anti-anxiety and antipsychotic drugs as
well as electroshock. Following her fourth psychiatric hospitalization
since her daughterÂ’s birth, Melanie jumped out of a 12-story hotel
window in Chicago, leaving 3 1/2 month old Sommer motherless.

Antidepressants have been proven to be no better than a sugar pill,
and they carry a black box warning for doubling suicidal behavior and
thinking. They also increase the risk of psychosis for new moms 1000%%.
It is an outrage that anyone would use MelanieÂ’s name to attempt to
pass a bill that will undoubtedly kill more women and children.

Prior to the publication of Elise YoungÂ’s piece on The MOTHERS Act, I
provided her numerous resources:

· Lists of pharma-backed groups who support the bill, and the
dollar amounts they received from pharmaceutical companies

· Medical literature on the dangers and ineffectiveness of
antidepressant drugs including the risk of death and birth defects for
babies exposed to them

· Contacts for the numerous groups and victims endorsing our
fight to stop this bill

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy also called Elise Young prior to publication but
Young was unable to spend long on the phone and subsequently failed to
include in this piece information about her conversation with Dr.
Tracy, or any of the resources that we provided to her other than the
URL for my website.

Lies were reported as facts on the sidebar of this article, such as
that medication actually improves or eliminates symptoms- and in the
piece itself were quotations from Robert Menendez misinforming the
public about drugs, lies about the bill itself, and also insulting the
opposition by calling our arguments “wrong-minded.”

The fact that Scientologists oppose psychiatric drugs does not
diminish the truth about the dangers of antidepressants. Are the FDA
and the researchers published in medical journals such as the New
England Journal of Medicine part of Scientology? After all, the FDA
requires black box warnings on antidepressant labels and ads,
something that was not added to this article. And the NEJM published
previously suppressed information showing that antidepressants are
ineffective! The RecordÂ’s irresponsible publishing of this article as
well as their failure to allow our movement even the right to continue
commenting on the piece online are like a slap in the face to all
those lost to or harmed by these drugs. I wonder whether the paperÂ’s
management have any journalistic integrity at all.

In 2004 I was prescribed Zoloft when only six days postpartum, for
anxiety after my firstborn son Isaac nearly died from choking at the
age of three days. Instead of being helped by Zoloft, I was plagued by
constant drug-induced homicidal thoughts toward my baby beginning with
a hallucination of throwing him down the stairs. I loved Isaac so much
that I would have rather sacrificed my own life than live another day
fearing I might hurt him. This was why I initially went to the ER
after three days on Zoloft, because I thought perhaps they could help
me, and Isaac would not have to grow up without a mother.

Instead I became an involuntary patient in the psychiatric ward for
two days where I was forced to continue Zoloft and nearly given a host
of other drugs. By the end of my time on Zoloft five months later I
would constantly imagine murdering my cats, mom, husband, neighbors,
baby, and then committing suicide to finish it all. I eventually went
against medical advice and tapered off the drug, which resulted in my
return to normal and saved me and my family from continuing pain and
fear.

Doctors did not recognize that any of my problems were caused by
Zoloft and their only recommendation was to not have more children or
stay on drugs indefinitely. My second son Toby would never have been
born if I had listened to their advice.

Toby and Isaac are worth every hour I spend fighting, and I hope and
pray that when my children grow up, they will not have to go to
outrageous lengths to protect their families from bull like the
ridiculous excuses for medical care that I received, or from the
outrageous human rights violations and attempts to murder millions of
innocents that we see from the sugar-coated MOTHERS Act and its
deceptive salespeople.

URGENT! Sign the petition against the MOTHERS Act at
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-dangerous-and-invasive-mothers-act
Visit www.uniteforlife.org