NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2009
CONTACT:
Jim Gottstein
907-274-7686
jim.gottstein@psychrights.org
PsychRights Appeals Dismissal of Lawsuit Against State Over Harmful Psychiatric Drugging of Alaskan Children & Youth
The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights®) today filed its appeal of the Anchorage Superior Court's dismissal of Law Project for Psychiatric Rights v. Alaska et al., for lack of standing. "We believe the Court erred in dismissing the lawsuit and hope the Alaska Supreme Court will agree," said Jim Gottstein, President of PsychRights.
PsychRights v. Alaska was filed last Fall to halt the State of Alaska's practice of administering and paying for psychiatric drugs to children and youth without proper decision making. In moving for dismissal the State admitted it was incapable of protecting the children and youth:
A reading of the Complaint makes obvious that the true subject of plaintiff's grievances is not the Department, but prescribers of psychotropic pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical companies which produce and market them, and the overall culture of pediatric psychiatry. The implication that the Department possesses meaningful authority and control over these matters-or is in any realistic position to administer the relief requested even if the court were to order it-is a fiction.
"It is unfortunate the Superior Court decided to allow the extreme harm being caused by the State's abdication of responsibility to youth over whom it has seized control to continue without any consideration of the merits," says Mr. Gottstein.
PsychRights v. Alaska seeks to obtain a court order prohibiting the psychiatric drugging of children and youth by the State unless and until
(i) evidence-based psychosocial interventions have been exhausted,
(ii) rationally anticipated benefits of psychotropic drug treatment outweigh the risks,
(iii) the person or entity authorizing administration of the drug(s) is fully informed of the risks and potential benefits, and
(iv) close monitoring of, and appropriate means of responding to, treatment emergent effects are in place.
"That the State is resisting these perfectly reasonable measures speaks volumes," concluded Mr. Gottstein.
All of the substantive filings in the lawsuit are available on the Internet at http://psychrights.org/States/Alaska/PsychRightsvAlaska.htm.
The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights is a public interest law firm devoted to the defense of people facing the horrors of unwarranted forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock. PsychRights is further dedicated to exposing the truth about psychiatric interventions and the courts being misled into ordering people subjected to these brain and body damaging drugs against their will. Extensive information about these dangers, and about the tragic damage caused by electroshock, is available on the PsychRights web site: http://psychrights.org/.
# # #
James B. (Jim) Gottstein, Esq.
President/CEO
Law Project for Psychiatric Rights
406 G Street, Suite 206
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
USA
Phone: (907) 274-7686) Fax: (907) 274-9493
jim.gottstein[[at]]psychrights.org
http://psychrights.org/
PsychRights®
Law Project for
Psychiatric Rights
The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights is a public interest law firm devoted to the defense of people facing the horrors of forced psychiatric drugging. We are further dedicated to exposing the truth about these drugs and the courts being misled into ordering people to be drugged and subjected to other brain and body damaging interventions against their will. Extensive information about this is available on our web site, http://psychrights.org/. Please donate generously. Our work is fueled with your IRS 501(c) tax deductible donations. Thank you for your ongoing help and support.
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