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Ralph Nader's Stand On Forced Drugging
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An open letter from Greens to Greens
Ralph Nader Says "I'm Neutral" on a Key Disability Rights Issue!
September 2, 2000
We are individual Greens who are very concerned about Ralph Nader's silence on a crucial issue involving disability, poverty and the pharmaceutical industry.
Ralph is not speaking out against the rise of involuntary psychiatric drugging of people diagnosed with mental disabilities, including on an outpatient basis in their own homes.
Ralph recently told a disability leader in a personal meeting that he has decided to remain "neutral" on this controversy.
For those new to this crisis, Involuntary Outpatient Commitment (IOC) is an increasingly frequent technique using court-orders to force individuals living out in the community, even in their own homes, to take powerful psychiatric drugs against their will. Thirty-seven states have quietly passed IOC laws, because of a campaign by a front group largely financed by the pharmaceutical industry (see Mother Jones Dec. 1999).
Say It Ain't So, Ralph!
What makes Ralph's silence especially troubling is that Ralph has maintained close ties for many years with two physicians who are proponents of more involuntary outpatient psychiatric drugging: Public Citizen's Dr. Sidney Wolfe and Dr. E. Fuller Torrey. Torrey is widely considered one of the most extremist psychiatrists on this subject. As of today, Sept. 2, 2000 Ralph has not even responded to inquiries on this subject from national Green leaders. Sarah L. Nelson is on the Green Party USA National Coordinating Committee. Sarah said that "I support and endorse Support Coalition's position on this, I'm behind you 1000 percent." But even these Green leaders can't get an answer.
Sarah is also co-liaison to the GPUSA People With Disabilities/Senior Caucus, with Bob Auerbach of Maryland. The caucus, of course, is especially worried. Bob has been a community organizer of people with disabilities, including mental disabilities, going back 50 years. Bob says, "Ralph should speak up about involuntary psychiatric drugging. Ralph's main concern for thirty or forty years has been consumers. This issue is something that really effects consumers. Greens need to ask Ralph where he stands on this. It really is important."
Neutral is Not Enough, Ralph!
Ralph Nader, of course, founded Public Citizen and that fact is found everywhere on Public Citizen's letterhead and material. Ralph points out that legally speaking, he is no longer connected to Public Citizen. But he continues to be very close, writing fund raising letters for them. Ralph has referred people with questions about mental health to Drs. Torrey and Wolfe of Public Citizen.
It surprises many people that Public Citizen would ignore the position of many disability and mental health consumer organizations, and instead support the pharmaceutical industry's campaign for forced psychiatric drugging. Public Citizen has even set up a combined web site with Torrey's Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC), which is the main organization promoting laws to make it easier to give involuntary psychiatric treatment. However, Public Citizen is mainly a think tank, with no accountability to the grassroots. They are run by a small self-selected board of directors that is not kept informed of activities of strong in-house figures such as Dr. Sidney Wolfe. Public Citizen board member Paul W. Gikas is a retired physician in Ann Arbor Michigan. Dr. Gikas says the Public Citizen board was never consulted on these positions, or the closer links to TAC and E. Fuller Torrey.
What are we asking of Ralph?
Simply that he agree to the President's National Council on Disability core recommendation,
1. Laws that allow the use of involuntary treatments such as forced drugging and inpatient and outpatient commitment should be viewed as inherently suspect, because they are incompatible with the principle of self-determination. Public policy needs to move in the direction of a totally voluntary community-based mental health system that safeguards human dignity and respects individual autonomy.
As never before, the disability movement, such as Alliance for Self Determination, has embraced this position because it defends all people with disabilities.
Green values of empowerment do not end when an individual is diagnosed with a mental disability. In fact, respect for the fundamental rights of our most vulnerable citizens is a test of our Green values. In 1993 at the Syracuse national Green gathering, a resolution was passed endorsing the empowerment of people diagnosed with mental disabilities. Bob was a delegate to that Green gathering. We didn't think then that we would have to hold one of our presidential candidates to this resolution, but that's the case now. Ralph pledged to endorse Green positions why won't he endorse this one, and truly show he is his own man, and not so closely linked to Wolfe & Torrey?
Some progressives have dismissed our concerns, saying that Ralph can't address every issue. But if Ralph was anti-abortion people would not be saying this. Our issue is about medical choice, too. Our people are not expendable. The rise of forced psychiatric drugging has become an emergency issue. Just this month, activists in California have finally stopped expansion of IOC into that state, by stopping AB 1800 in the State Assembly. This action took hundreds of mental health consumers becoming active and speaking out. Now is the time to act!
In fact, many mainstream groups in mental health have opposed the rise of involuntary outpatient commitment, including the National Mental Health Association, Bazelon Center and International Association for PsychoSocial Rehabilitation.
Ralph's close connection to Public Citizen is a legitimate area of concern for progressives. We should open our eyes now. For instance, in the early 1990's, Support Coalition was engaged in a campaign to expose the occasional practice of involuntary electroshock, against the wishes of the subject. The federal government was supposed to issue a study on the subject, but for some reason delayed the report. Insiders said it was because opposition letters had been received. Support Coalition filed a Freedom of Information Act request, and we were horrified to find a letter under Public Citizen letterhead actually opposing the federal government investigating involuntary electroshock forced shock! Opposing!
Public Citizens' director Joan Claybrook has absolutely refused to answer any questions about any of these matters, and the organization simply defers to Dr. Wolfe on all matters involving mental health policy.
Greens cannot afford to ignore this subject. There are more than 40 million disabled voters in the USA. Many pay attention to where candidates and parties stand on these issues. The disabled movement is one of the main organized sectors of the crucial poor people's movement, that is often ignored by movements led by the white middle class. It's no coincidence that Ralph is also running into trouble about the way he is avoiding speaking out about issues important to people of color organizations.
What about the other candidates?
The Libertarian Party's convention in California earlier this year went out of its way to pass a platform plank specifically on the subject of opposing involuntary outpatient psychiatric drugging and other human rights violations, and Harry Browne endorses this platform.
Bush of course, is frightening; Texas not only has IOC, it also is one of six states to have an at-home drug delivery program to enforce these court orders. This program, called Program of Assertive Community Treatment PACT is being pushed as a national quick fix.
And the Gores? Tipper Gore has made mental health her key pet issue. Anyone seriously running against the Gores should directly challenge Tipper and Al on this subject. But Tipper's position is similar to Ralph's both refuse to issue a position on this subject. This is why Support Coalition International, representing 88 groups working for human right of people diagnosed with mental disabilities, decided to focus on protesting Tipper Gore: She shouldn't speak for us, if she won't meet with us. At least Al Gore did agree to an hour-long meeting with key disability leaders, including Support Coalition board member Judi Chamberlin. Judi raised IOC concerns in this meeting with Al Gore.
Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman, by the way, is better on these issues than most politicians, and far more outspoken than Ralph. Senator Lieberman met with a number of Support Coalition members during a White House meeting on human rights violations in the mental health system last year. He is sponsoring a bill regulating restraints.
Have we given Ralph a chance?
Many of us have written to Ralph Nader for years on this. However, Ralph mainly works as part of a law firm. He doesn't have to answer to us. That's why contacting him during an election is especially important. Ralph's election campaign may result in millions of taxpayer dollars going to the Green electoral work. Ralph's election campaign may result in a President Bush instead of a President Gore and on general disability issues, there are some significant differences. Now is the time to bring this up with Ralph. After election day, he can again ignore our concerns.
We have brought up these concerns including packets of information with Public Citizen's board and directors, with vice president candidate Winona Laduke, with Nader campaign coordinator Theresa Amato, and Ralph's nephew who works as handler during campaign stops. Many of us have written, faxed, phoned and e-mailed to Ralph c/o both his campaign headquarters and law firm, many time. All inquiries on this subject have so far gone unanswered.
Another organization Ralph once started long ago was the Disability Rights Center. DRC is still around, and they're very concerned about Ralph's silence on this issue. DRC asked a disability leader Ralf Hotchkiss, director of Whirlwind Wheelchairs International, to personally talk to Ralph Nader about these concerns. The two did talk. And that's where Ralph Nader explained directly that he would take a "neutral" position.
What can you do, now?
Please endorse this open letter. David Oaks, director of Support Coalition International, prepared this letter as an individual Green. You can add your name by contacting Support Coalition, www.MindFreedom.org.
MAIN ACTION: Contact Ralph! Ask Ralph to stand up against forced outpatient psychiatric drugging. Ask Ralph to distance himself from Drs. Wolfe & Torrey, and Public Citizen.
c/o Ralph's campaign headquarters:
NADER 2000 Ralph Nader; 1225 - 15th St. NW PO BOX 18002; Washington DC 20036 ph: (202) 265-4000 fax: (202) 265-0183
e-mail: campaign at votenader.org.
c/o Ralph's law office:
Ralph Nader Center for Study of Responsive Law PO Box 19367 Washington, DC 20036 ph: 202-387-8030 fax: 202-234-5176
For more information on the involuntary psychiatric drugging issue, click here to contact Support Coalition International.
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