Latest news with #CCHR
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
CCHR Warns: Millions of Children Exposed to Risky Psychiatric Drugs
LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 2, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — A federal assessment of children's health has identified the widespread prescribing of psychotropic drugs to U.S. youth as a 'public crisis' driven by industry profit motives, flawed science, and systemic conflicts of interest. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that stimulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anti-anxiety drugs were leading the surge.[1] According to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) , a mental health industry watchdog, this is fueling a psychotropic drug market that reaps $22.6 billion annually. CCHR advised parents to become better informed about the risks of psychotropic drugs, including benzodiazepines or anti-anxiety drugs prescribed to children. CCHR offers a 16-page educational booklet, Psychiatric Drugs & Your Child's Future , and the documentary Dead Wrong , which features bereaved parents who lost children to psychiatric drug effects, especially antidepressants—black box-warned for suicide in 2004, more than 15 years after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. HHS reported that prescriptions for stimulants rose 250% between 2006 and 2016. By 2022, 11% of all children—and nearly 25% of boys—had a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), despite no medical test to confirm the behavioral symptoms. Long-term trials of ADHD drugs show no academic, behavioral, or social benefit beyond 14 months—and a loss of height averaging one inch. Teen use of antidepressants increased 1,400% between 1987 and 2014, and over 2 million prescriptions were written for adolescents in 2022 alone.[2] Antipsychotic drug use among children grew 800% between 1995 and 2009, with 66% prescribed off-label—including for ADHD and 'aggression.' Antipsychotics in adolescent boys may cause up to 5x more gynecomastia (male breast growth); 4x more extrapyramidal effects (movement disorders); and 6–8x more weight gain than placebo. Meanwhile, serious side effects—including seizures, cardiac issues, male breast growth, and prolonged withdrawal syndromes—are widely documented.[3] CCHR, which has tracked what it calls mass-prescribed drug child abuse since its founding in 1969, said the situation is even more dire than the HHS report reveals. Using data from IQVia's Total Patient Tracker Database for 2020, CCHR found: 1 million 0–17-year-olds were prescribed ADHD stimulants, 15 million were on antidepressants, 15 million were taking anti-anxiety drugs, including highly addictive benzodiazepines, and 829,372 were prescribed antipsychotics known to cause neurological damage.[4] Combined, over 6.1 million children and teens were drugged—representing more than 8.2% of the U.S. youth population.[5] Psychotropic polypharmacy is especially prevalent among youth covered by Medicaid. A 2024 study found a rise in multiple drug use in this group, increasing the risk of adverse medical outcomes. Researchers reviewed 126,972 Medicaid recipients who had received at least one psychotropic drug and had continuous coverage for 90+ days. The prevalence of polypharmacy rose from 4.2% in 2015 to 4.6% in 2020, with higher rates among those in foster care (10.8% to 11.3%), the Children's Health Program (2.2% to 2.8%), and low-income households (2.1% to 2.8%).[6] The problem is exacerbated by drug misuse. In 2018, almost 16% of U.S. college students said they misused prescription stimulants.[7] A 2023 survey of college students who reported using prescription stimulants revealed that about 21.7% had taken a higher-than-prescribed dose in the past three months.[8] Many students mistakenly believe one ADHD stimulant to be no more harmful than coffee, assuming it is safe because it's prescribed by doctors.[9] Youth drug overdoses on prescription drugs is also a serious risk. In 2019, 4,777 U.S. youth died from drug overdoses; 727 involved benzodiazepines and 902 involved psychostimulants. In 2020, 2,928 nonfatal benzodiazepine overdoses were reported among youth aged 15 to 24. Among these, 29% had a prescription in the previous month and 42% within six months. Intentional overdoses were more likely among those with recent prescriptions. Fifty-six percent of benzodiazepine overdoses were intentional compared with 40% of stimulant overdoses.[10] The FDA issued a black box warning in 2020 for benzodiazepines, citing 'risks of abuse, misuse, and addiction, which can lead to overdose or death.'[11] A 2022 study in Pediatrics found that a quarter of insured teens who overdosed on anxiety or ADHD drugs had received a recent prescription.[12] HHS linked the rise in drug use to broadened diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), expanded in 2013 by panels with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. This contributed to a 40-fold increase in childhood diagnoses such as ADHD and bipolar disorder. Yet, no psychiatric-defined disorder meets the scientific definition of a disease. Former U.S. National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas Insel stated: 'Unlike our definitions of ischemic heart disease, lymphoma, or AIDS, the DSM diagnoses are based on a consensus about clusters of clinical symptoms, not any objective laboratory measure.'[13] CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, has achieved significant reforms in this area, including a 2004 federal law prohibiting schools from forcing students onto psychotropic drugs as a requisite for their education. Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, said: 'Profit-driven psychiatry is putting children at risk with no science to justify diagnoses or drugs.' CCHR stresses that the nation's child mental health system requires a complete overhaul—eliminating treatments that expose children to suicide, addiction, physical harm, and institutional profiteering. To learn more, visit: Sources: [1] 'Making Our Children Healthy Again,' Make America Healthy Again Commission (MAHA), 22 May 2025, p. 54 [2] MAHA Report, pp. 16-17 [3] MAHA Report, pp. 54-56 [4] [5] [6] 'Psychotropic Polypharmacy Trends Rise Among Child, Adolescent Medicaid Beneficiaries,' Psychiatric Times, 21 May 2024 [7] [8] [9] 'Are You Surprised By the 4 Most Abused Study Drugs?' 28 Feb. 2018 [10] ; [11] ; 'FDA requiring Boxed Warning updated to improve safe use of benzodiazepine drug class. Includes potential for abuse, addiction, and other serious risks,' FDA, 23 Sept. 2020 [12] [13] 'The NIMH Withdraws Support for DSM-5,' Psychology Today, 4 May 2003 MULTIMEDIA: Image link for media: Image caption: 'Profit-driven psychiatry is putting children at risk with no science to justify diagnoses or drugs.' – Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International. NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: Religion and Churches, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, CCHR International, CCHR International, Jan Eastgate, psychotropic drug market, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire . Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126647 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Newsweek
Pennsylvania Group Proposes Alternative Rail Plan for State
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Pennsylvania authorities are planning a new highway to connect the State College Area, but local activists have pitched an alternative: a railway system. The Centre County Highway Project would construct an 8-mile, four-lane connector to improve access to the State College area. A campaign group opposing the highway is calling for the state to invest in a rail system instead. Newsweek reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation via email for comment. Why It Matters The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is exploring options for a new highway access road connecting U.S. 322 at Potters Mills and the Mount Nittany Expressway near Boalsburg. Planning took place throughout 2024, with open-house meetings about the project held in August. What To Know The Centre County Highway Revolt, a campaign group that wants to replace the highway plans with a railway system, told Newsweek that a train network would be more useful to residents and less environmentally damaging. "The project is primarily hoping to end highway construction in Pennsylvania and divert road funding over to rail transit and active transportation," a spokesperson for the CCHR campaign said. The group also stated that the cost of a rail project would be lower than that of a highway of the same length, although the proposal has not been fully costed. "A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates phase 1 should be under $400 million, so about half the cost of the SCAC highway, but also we're not engineering experts, so take that with a grain of salt, CCHR said. "Future phases will obviously be much more expensive, but that's just making up for lost time. There are currently 3 highways going into the State College area, but zero long-distance bicycle trails (like the nearby GAP or Ghost Town trails) and zero intercity rail options (like is seen at equivalent R1 University towns such as Davis, Champaign-Urbana, or Ann Arbor)." A proposed map of a rail route in Centre County, Pennsylvania. A proposed map of a rail route in Centre County, Pennsylvania. CCHR The current route proposed by the CCHR campaign would stretch from State College to Tyrone, connecting the Amtrak service there. "PennDOT has offered people a choice of 'peanuts, peanuts, or peanuts' and concluded nobody wants pretzels," CCHR said. "We think that's bad engineering, and all future road and highway projects should be halted until multimodal options have been brought up to equivalent levels of investment." "The economic benefits are myriad. The science shows conclusively that rail and trail projects generate a much higher return on investment for every dollar spent than equivalent road projects. Cars are insanely expensive, so transit users and bicyclists spend more at local businesses than drivers, and tubular transit connections have been shown to directly improve rural economies and eco-tourism." What People Are Saying The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said that the highway would "meet the needs of interstate, regional, and local traffic passing through and moving within the study area by reducing congestion, improving safety, and addressing system continuity." What Happens Next The highway project continues to make progress, with more consultations about environmental impact scheduled in the future.
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
CCHR Seeks End to Mandated Community Psychiatric Programs, Citing Global Alarm
LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 27, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), a mental health industry watchdog, is calling for an overhaul of psychiatric hospitalization and community treatment laws. With 54% of U.S. psychiatric patients held involuntarily, CCHR warns the system has normalized coercion. Most U.S. states authorize Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) laws that compel individuals in the community to receive psychiatric treatment—typically drug-based—under threat of court orders or rehospitalization. Critics say the laws criminalize noncompliance and medicalize dissent. A Pennsylvania source reported that under AOT, 'noncompliance is pathologized, autonomy is dismissed…Treatment ceases to be chosen; it becomes imposed.'[1] A 2021 NIH-funded study published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology found that 70% of youth aged 16–27 who were involuntarily hospitalized reported long-lasting distrust of clinicians—even when they remained in therapy. Meanwhile, a Cochrane Review concluded that AOT laws showed no consistent benefit over voluntary care.[2] Many mental health consumers are also forced to accept involuntary treatment in the community by being made subject to community treatment orders (CTOs), under threat that non-compliance can result in them being detained against their will in inpatient facilities and institutions.[3] A broader 2016 systematic review published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry analyzed more than 80 studies on CTOs, including three randomized controlled trials and multiple meta-analyses. The result: 'No evidence of patient benefit.' CTOs did not reduce hospitalizations or improve quality of life—but did result in patients spending significantly more time under coercive state psychiatric control.[4] Patients are often forced onto antipsychotic drugs. Bioethicist Carl Elliott says such neuroleptics cause 'tardive dyskinesia, a writhing, twitching motion of the mouth and tongue that can be permanent.' Psychotropic drug side effects can include violent behavior, aggression, paranoia, psychosis, dangerously high body temperatures, irregular heartbeat, and heart conditions, disorientation, delusion, lack of coordination, suicidal tendencies, and numerous physical problems.[5] Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International says, 'Ironically, the very side effects of antipsychotic drugs—such as agitation and aggression—are the same behaviors often cited to justify forced hospitalization and involuntary treatment in the first place.' Yet, under AOT regimes, complaints about side effects or treatment refusals are used against patients as evidence of illness. The term 'anosognosia'—defined as an inability to recognize one's illness—is routinely invoked to override consent, framing resistance as delusional and justifying further force. As one media source put it: 'It casts resistance as malfunction… Instead of seeing dissent as meaningful or contextual, it reframes it as a symptom of a broken brain. This framing is not just misguided—it's dangerous.'[6] Amalia Gamio, Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, helped open CCHR's Traveling Exhibit, Psychiatry: An Industry of Death in Los Angeles on May 17, denounced global psychiatric coercion: 'Involuntary medication, electroshock, even sterilization — these are inhuman practices. Under international law, they constitute torture. There is an urgent need to ban all coercive and non-consensual measures in psychiatric settings.' Rev. Frederick Shaw, Jr., President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Inglewood-South Bay Branch, condemned how psychiatry disproportionately targets African Americans. 'More than 27% of Black youth—already impacted by racism—are pathologized with labels like 'Oppositional Defiant Disorder,' which has no medical test,' he said. 'This mirrors how Black civil rights leaders in the 1960s were once labeled with 'protest psychosis' to justify drugging them with antipsychotics,' he added. 'Psychiatry didn't just participate in suppressing Black voices—it orchestrated it. And they're still doing it.' Psychiatric diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) are not discovered through scientific testing but are voted into existence by APA committees. CCHR says despite the absence of objective medical proof for these labels, they can create lifelong patients to be drugged and subjected to involuntary interventions. Forced psychiatric practices have been condemned by the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO), which have repeatedly called for an end to forced institutionalization, electroshock, drugging, and community-based coercive measures.[7] In the U.S., over 37% of children and youth in psychiatric facilities are subjected to seclusion or restraint.[8] Some—as young as 7—have died under these conditions. In multiple cases, medical examiners ruled the deaths homicides, yet prosecutions have been rare.[9] 'This is not mental healthcare. This is systemic cruelty and homicide,' adds Eastgate. CCHR and its global network are demanding regulations that prohibit coercive psychiatric treatment. 'These are abuses. Forced treatment is torture passed off as mental health 'care,'' CCHR says. About CCHR: The group was co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist and author Prof. Thomas Szasz. CCHR has exposed and helped bring accountability for psychiatric abuses globally. Its advocacy now echoes international calls by the UN and WHO to end coercive mental health practices. To learn more, visit: SOURCES: [1] 'Brave New Pittsburgh: Forced Use of Psychotropic Pharmaceuticals is Coming,' Popular Rationalism, 16 May 2025, [2] [3] 'Ensuring compulsory treatment is used as a last resort: a narrative review of the knowledge about Community Treatment Orders,' Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 6 Jan 2025, [4] [5] Susan Perry, 'Recruitment of homeless people for drug trials raises serious ethical issues, U bioethicist says,' MinnPost, 11 Aug. 2014, [6] 'Not Broken, Not Sick: A Rebellion Against the Anosognosia Frame,' Underground Transmissions, 13 May 2025 [7] World Health Organization, 'Guidance on mental health policy and strategic action plans,' Module 1, pp 3-4, 2025 [8] Mohr, W, 'Adverse Effects Associated With Physical Restraint,' The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry—Review Paper, June 2003, [9] Deborah Yetter, '7-year-old died at Kentucky youth treatment center due to suffocation, autopsy finds; 2 workers fired,' USA Today, 19 Sept. 2022, Taylor Johnston, ''He didn't deserve that': Remembering young people who've died from restraint and seclusion,' CT Insider, 31 Oct. 2022, MULTIMEDIA: Image link for media: Image caption: 'Involuntary medication, electroshock, even sterilization — these are inhuman practices. Under international law, they constitute torture. There is an urgent need to ban all coercive and non-consensual measures in psychiatric settings.' – Amalia Gamio, Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: Religion and Churches, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, CCHR International, CCHR International, Jan Eastgate, coercive psychiatry, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126451 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Mental Health Awareness Month – Tennessee Enacts Psychotropic Testing Law
- CCHR Praises New Precedent-Setting Law Linking Psychiatric Drug Use to Public Safety Risks - LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 12, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — A landmark law recently passed in Tennessee raises awareness about psychotropic drugs linked to potential violent behavior, marking a paradigm shift in advancing public safety and accountability for these prescriptions. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, a mental health industry watchdog, praised the regulations as timely, given that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The new law mandates toxicology testing for psychotropic drugs in autopsies of certain deceased mass shooters. Sheila Matthews, Vice President of the parents' rights group, ABLECHILD, and Amy Miller, an advocate for pharmaceutical industry reform, helped draft the legislation, which also directs the University of Tennessee Health Science Center to study interactions between psychotropic drugs and other substances found in violent perpetrators.[1] Some 77 million Americans take psychotropic drugs, including over 6 million children and youths. While acknowledging that this does not mean all consumers could become violent, CCHR says that Tennessee, recognizing the need for rigorous oversight and accountability, will benefit consumer informed consent rights and increase public safety. Matthews commented on the nationwide—and global—effects it could create, calling it a 'blueprint for dismantling the wall of secrecy' about the violent adverse effects of some psychotropics. 'When someone commits mass murder,' Matthews continued, 'the public has a right to know if mind-altering drugs played a role.' The law requires the county medical examiner to test a deceased perpetrator for the presence of any drugs, including prescription psychotropics, and must disclose the drug use to the University of Tennessee's health science center and the Department of Health. CCHR says the law is a vital first step but should be expanded. It currently applies only if the perpetrator is deceased and four or more people are killed, with no requirement for testing or disclosure if the perpetrator survives. CCHR is urging other states to adopt similar laws with broader testing and public reporting to strengthen transparency and accountability. CCHR says the results of those tests could be filed with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Adverse Drug Reporting (ADR) system, which could flag the need for further investigations and studies. Already, the FDA has reports of at least 1,530 cases of homicide/homicidal ideation recorded as linked to psychiatric drugs.[2] A 2010 study published in Public Library of Science ONE analyzed the FDA's ADRs and identified 25 prescription psychiatric drugs disproportionately associated with violence. These included antidepressants, sedative/hypnotics, and drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The cases of violence linked to these drugs ranged from homicide and physical assaults to homicidal ideation and violence-related symptoms.[3] In November 2019, The Violence Project, funded by the U.S. Justice Department, released the largest, most comprehensive database of mass shooters in the United States.[4] A 2021 analysis of the database by Voice of America, the state-owned news network of the US, revealed that 23% of the mass shooters had been on psychiatric drugs.[5] This was likely greatly underreported, as researchers did not have access to all of the perpetrators' toxicology and medical records, only whatever information was publicly available.[6] At least one antidepressant lists 'homicidal ideation' as a side effect; a common stimulant may cause 'suicidal or homicidal tendencies,' according to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. A 2023 article warned that antipsychotics can sometimes cause violence, agitation, hostility, and impulsivity.[7] In 2024, medical and legal experts discussed the 'overwhelming evidence from clinical studies and from tragic events that antidepressants can cause homicide.'[8] Such studies and now the Tennessee law have strengthened the need for a non-biomedical approach to helping people with mental health issues and to urgently shift away from forcing such treatments on individuals or coercing them to take them by not fully informing them that violent or hostile effects could be sourced to the treatment, says Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, headquartered in Los Angeles. CCHR hopes the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), being held in Los Angeles during Mental Health Awareness Month, will formally support the Tennessee law and adopt the international call for an end to coercive treatment in mental health. Matthews calls for the mental health industry to end stigmatizing patients, blaming their mental health diagnosis instead of the powerful mind-altering drugs prescribed to them.[9] The group wants safety protection laws similar to that passed in Tennessee, but with even broader testing and reporting systems accountable to the public. Since 1989, CCHR, which was established 56 years ago by the Church of Scientology and author and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, has collected evidence and case reports of violent acts where a perpetrator was taking or withdrawing from psychotropics. In 2018, it published a fully documented report, Psychiatric Drugs: Create Violence & Suicide—School Shootings and Other Acts of Senseless Violence, with more than 30 studies that link prescription psychotropics to hostility, mania, aggression, self-harm, and suicide. SOURCES: [1] 'ABLECHILD: Tennessee Sets National Precedent with Passage of AbleChild Bill Requiring Psychotropic Drug Testing in Mass Shooter Cases,' ABLECHILD, 30 Apr. 2025, [2] Psychiatric Drugs CreateViolence & Suicide, CCHR International, 2017, p. 12, [3] Thomas J. Moore, et al., 'Prescription Drugs Associated with Reports of Violence Towards Others,' Public Library of Science ONE, Vol. 5, lss. 12, Dec. 2010, [4] The Violence Project Database of Mass Shootings in the United States, 1966–2019, [5] Sharon Shahid and Megan Duzor, 'VOA SPECIAL REPORT: HISTORY OF MASS SHOOTERS,' VOA News, 1 June 2021, [6] 'Mass Shooter Database,' The Violence Project, 'Methodology,' The Violence Project, [7] 'Detailed View: Safety Labeling Changes Approved By FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) – November 2005,' FDA; AUSTRALIAN PRODUCT INFORMATION ASPEN DEXAMFETAMINE tablets, 26 Feb 2024, Alex Alikiotis 'The Link Between Antipsychotics And Aggressive Behavior: Understanding The Potential Causes Of Violence,' MedShun 24 Dec. 2023 [8] [9] MULTIMEDIA: Image link for media: Image Caption: 'When someone commits mass murder, the public has a right to know if mind-altering drugs played a role.' – Sheila Matthews, Vice President of AbleChild NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: Religion and Churches, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, CCHR International, AbleChild, Sheila Matthews, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126104 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Psychiatry's Legacy of Racism and Coercion Highlighted in Restraint Deaths
LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 5, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — With May being Mental Health Month, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is spotlighting a disturbing new study published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, titled 'I Can't Breathe' – A Study of Civil Litigated Cases on Prone Restraint Deaths. The review analyzed 229 fatal police restraint cases from 2010 to 2019. Of those where race was reported, 38% of the victims were African American. In 58% of cases, death occurred within five minutes of restraint; more than 20% of victims were recorded gasping, 'I can't breathe'—a hallmark of lethal respiratory failure.[1] The mental health watchdog warns that such deaths are rooted in eugenic ideologies that historically promoted coercion under the guise of control. The disproportionate representation of African Americans in restraint-related deaths reflects entrenched psychiatric and psychological racism—pseudoscientific theories that falsely declared Black inferiority and continue to influence profiling today. This coercive culture is echoed in 'warrior-style' or 'killology' law enforcement training developed by a psychology professor 20 years ago that promotes a 'kill or be killed' mindset. It conditions officers to respond with deadly force. As Mother Jones reported, such training 'often runs the risk of the use of unnecessary, and sometimes, fatal force.'[2] Such force reflects a broader, systemic pattern: racial profiling and the use of physical and chemical restraints, disproportionately on African Americans. A 2017 New York Law School Journal report confirmed: 'Behavior by African-Americans is more often interpreted as 'dangerous' than identical behavior by whites,' and they are more likely to be labeled with psychiatric conduct disorders.[3] These injustices trace back to the slave era. Benjamin Rush, dubbed the 'father of American psychiatry,' claimed Blacks suffered from 'Negritude'—a disease curable only by whitening their skin. His protégé, Dr. Samuel Cartwright, fabricated the diagnosis 'Drapetomania' to explain why slaves tried to escape, advocating that 'whipping the devil out of them' was therapeutic.[4] Myths that Blacks were 'more durable to pain' persist today, known as Black hardiness,' stereotypes that influence restraint and drugging. CCHR highlights the enduring racism embedded in psychiatric practice: Further compounding harm, psychiatrists prescribe African Americans higher doses of antipsychotics, which can cause tardive dyskinesia (TD), a neurological disorder marked by uncontrollable movements.[9] African Americans are twice as likely to develop TD compared to whites.[10] Antipsychotics may cause suicidality, diabetes, brain shrinkage, compulsive behaviors, and are even linked to breast cancer, according to a recent study.[11] CCHR points to the tragic deaths of children under psychiatric restraint: Each case underscores a system not of healing, but of unchecked coercion. The United Nations and World Health Organization have repeatedly condemned coercive psychiatric practices, equating them with torture. Despite these clear international mandates, African Americans remain disproportionately subject to such practices in the U.S. CCHR, established 56 years ago by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Thomas Szasz, calls for a permanent end to coercive psychiatric practices: banning forced treatment, physical and chemical restraint, and psychological 'killology' law enforcement training. They also demand accountability for harm and deaths caused by such practices. To learn more, visit: Sources: [1] Alon Steinberg, et al., 'I can't breathe' – A study of civil litigated cases on prone restraint deaths ,' Journ. of Forensic and Legal Medicine, May 2025, [2] [3] Michael L. Perlin, et al., 'Tolling For the Aching Ones Whose Wounds Cannot Be Nursed,' Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice, Vol. 20, Issue 3 (Summer 2017), pp. 431-45, [4] Samuel A. Cartwright, M.D., 'Report on the Diseases and Physical Peculiarities of the Negro Race,' New Orleans & Surgical Journal, 1851; Thomas Szasz, Insanity, The Idea and Its Consequences, (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1990), p. 306, 307; -mental-health-month-may-spell-mental-health-slavery/ [5] [6] 'Racial disparities in the management of emergency department patients presenting with psychiatric disorders ,' Ann Epidemiology, May 2022 [7] [8] 'National Review of Restraint Related Deaths of Children and Adults with Disabilities: The Lethal Consequences of Restraint,' Equip for Equality, 2011, p. 30 [9] 'Best Practices: Racial and Ethnic Effects on Antipsychotic Prescribing Practices in a Community Mental Health Center,' Psychiatric Services, 1 Feb. 2003, [10] [11] 'J&J and Eli Lilly Concealed Breast Cancer Risks in Blockbuster Antipsychotics for Decades, Wisner Baum Lawsuit Alleges,' PR Newswire, 23 Apr. 2023 [12] 'Mental health and human rights,' Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 28 September 2018 [13] World Health Organization, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 'Guidance on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation,' 9 Oct. 2023 MULTIMEDIA: Image link for media: Image caption: CCHR calls for a permanent end to coercive psychiatric practices: banning forced treatment, physical and chemical restraint, and psychological 'killology' law enforcement training. They also demand accountability for harm and deaths caused by such practices. NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: Religion and Churches, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Mental Health Month, CCHR International, Study of Civil Litigated Cases on Prone Restraint Deaths, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P125954 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
