The Mothers Act ... yes, its a quaint little name for another invasive and expensive piece of legislation more formally known as Bill S. 1375: Mom's Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression Act.
The legislation is currently in committee via the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions after passing overwhelmingly in the House.
With just a quick look at the summary of the bill (below) an individual more trusting of the government than myself might find it harmless at first - but upon further reading, red flags will no doubt show themselves to many a concerned American!
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Sumary: THE MOTHERS ACT amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to: (1) states to provide to women who have recently given birth and their families, before such women leave their birthing centers, education concerning postpartum depression, postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, and postpartum psychosis and to screen new mothers for such postpartum conditions during their first year of postnatal checkup visits; and (2) public or nonprofit private entities to provide for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such postpartum conditions and their families. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the heads of other federal agencies that administer federal health programs, to organize a series of national meetings that are designed to develop a research plan for postpartum depression and psychosis. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to expand and intensify research relating to postpartum conditions to carry out such plan.
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1375
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For those friends and visitors here who have read the summary and perhaps even clicked on the link to learn more about the bill, I'd like to pose the following questions ... First, when has the government ever awarded grants/provided funding to individual states for specific programs without having strings attached??? Think No Child Left Behind and our Interstate Highway system.
And secondly, what makes government via its agencies qualified to educate, screen, council and medicate new mothers and their families in an unbiased manner??? Should those agencies offer advice, will they be inclined to provide alternative methods of treatment as well, considering Big Pharma is Big Business in Washington??? Worse yet, might the mention of drug-free options be prohibited?
Our nation needs less government intervention and oversight - not more!!!
As government continues to intervene in the lives of individuals and families, promising solutions to all that ails us via government services, we have become a nation suffering the consequences of turning away from the very family and community assistance once accepted as natural and turning towards government as a solution.
Government assistance always includes government bureaucracy ... and sometime the waiting game can be a dangerous proposition to someone in real need. How often have we all heard of someone falling between the cracks, no matter how many government agencies were supposed to be providing services? Once the government gets us use to them being in our living rooms, birthing rooms and medicine cabinets, the drug companies and the politicians benefit ... and We the People suffer.
It would benefit us as a nation to rekindle the practice of young and/or new mothers creating and looking to their own support system which could included their mother, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, neighbors, friends, co-workers, a trusted family doctor or other health care professional, etc ... women (and men) who are available for wise counsel (or sometimes simply to offer the new mom a night out on the town or a few extra hours of sleep!)
Help keep the government out of our living rooms, birthing rooms, medicine cabinets and doctors offices! Call your Senators today and tell them to vote NO on The Mothers Act! Let keep our private lives and our medical concerns private ... without bureaucratic oversight and intervention!
Jan
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2 comments:
Scary, scary, scary! I'm sure we can all bet on the fact that wholistic medicine would not be a part of the governments' plan. Since when is something natural good for you according to big brother? Love your blog, I will add it to my blog roll! Thanks for the invite!
This article
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/
articles/archive/2008/3/13/child-
abuse-by-the-government.aspx
makes me even MORE frightened of the Mother's Act. Because yes, it *is* a great idea to help women with postpartum depression. As a ppd survivor, I agree. However, in light of this article, this is what I see happening:
Mama is pregnant. She's happy and excited to have her baby. She gives birth, either with substantial trauma or none at all, and goes home from the hospital. At her 2 week or 6 week visit to her OB, the doctor asks her some questions and decided she's probably suffering from PPD. (let's assume for the sake of this argument that she has been correctly diagnosed). She psychiatrist she has been referred to tells her that she *needs* medication to help control her PPD. The mother feels that there are more holistic ways of treating her depression. The doctor disagrees, CPS is called (because this crazy, depressed woman is a danger to herself and her child) and the child is taken out of the home until the mother agrees to take the drugs.
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