MINNESOTA - Say NO to TeenScreen Legislation

Updates on Montana, Illinois and Florida legislation to come soon.

But, now Minnesota legislators are at it. SAY NO to S.F. 148

The Minnesota Senate Committee on Health, Housing and Family Security
is hearing a bill on Monday 02/26/2007, 12:30 PM in Room 15 Capitol to
fund TeenScreen. The agenda verifying this bill will be heard by this
committee can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/223s5x

E-mail the Chairman of this committee and bcc the committee members.
E-mail addresses provided below.

Full bill here:
http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S0148.0.html&ses
sion=ls85
Sec. 5. COLUMBIA TEENSCREEN GRANTS.
The commissioner of education shall develop a request for proposals for
grants to implement the Columbia TeenScreen program. The request for
proposals shall require the grant applicant to specify how the applicant
will follow, implement, and conduct the essential components of the
Columbia TeenScreen program. Applicants for grants shall be limited to
public schools and family service collaboratives.

Some points to consider:

1. There is a national controversy on screening kids for suicide. See
petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html and
video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKBY The petition can
be presented as it is addressed to state legislators.

2. There is no evidence that screening for suicide works! See U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force report here:
http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/suicide/suiciderr.htm
A. no evidence that screening for suicide risk reduces suicide attempts
or mortality.
B. limited evidence on the accuracy of screening tools to identify
suicide risk
C. insufficient evidence that treatment of those at high risk reduces
suicide attempts
D. no studies were found that directly address the harms of screening
and treatment for suicide risk.

3. The chairman of the above Task Force, Ned Calonge, who is also chief
medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment said recently in the Washington Post "Whether or not we
like to admit it, there are no interventions that have no harms, There
is weak evidence that screening can distinguish people who will commit
suicide from those who will not, he said. And screening inevitably leads
to treating some people who do not need it. Such interventions have
consequences beyond side effects from drugs or other treatments, he
said. Unnecessary care drives up the cost of insurance, causing some
people to lose coverage altogether. Reference:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/15/AR200606
1501984.html

4. The bill has the high possibility of increasing suicides! Since 90%
of shrinks use psychiatric drugs as their main method of treatment and
the FDA says these drugs produce suicide ideation, what do you think
will happen? See sample black box warning here:
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/SSRIlabelChange.htm

5. Ask them if they'd be willing to be suicide screened themselves with
the suicide screening questions that were recently exposed nationally
here:
http://www.libertycoalition.net/cognitive-liberty/psychiatry-gone-wild-t
eenscreen-documents-exposed

6. If they want to reduce the rare instances of teen suicides they need
to educate parents about the dangers and FDA suicide warnings on
psychiatric drugs.

+;++
Chair: Senator John Marty sen.john.marty%40senate.mn">sen.john.martysenate.mn

Senators - Committee on Health, Housing and Family Security:
sen.patricia.torres.ray%40senate.mn">sen.patricia.torres.raysenate.mn, sen.paul.koering%40senate.mn">sen.paul.koeringsenate.mn,
sen.john.doll%40senate.mn">sen.john.dollsenate.mn, sen.sharon.erickson.ropes%40senate.mn">sen.sharon.erickson.ropessenate.mn,
sen.michelle.fischbach%40senate.mn">sen.michelle.fischbachsenate.mn, sen.linda.higgins%40senate.mn">sen.linda.higginssenate.mn,
sen.debbie.johnson%40senate.mn">sen.debbie.johnsonsenate.mn, sen.tony.lourey%40senate.mn">sen.tony.loureysenate.mn,
sen.ann.lynch%40senate.mn">sen.ann.lynchsenate.mn, sen.betsy.wergin%40senate.mn">sen.betsy.werginsenate.mn,
sen.linda.berglin%40senate.mn">sen.linda.berglinsenate.mn; sen.david.hann%40senate.mn">sen.david.hannsenate.mn;
sen.yvonne.solon%40senate.mn">sen.yvonne.solonsenate.mn

+;++
19,575 Total Signatures:
http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

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