The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), a mental health industry watchdog, is reminding parents of a federal law it helped secure in 2004 that prohibits schools from forcing children to take psychiatric drugs as a condition of attending school. The Prohibition on Mandatory Medication Amendment, now part of the Code of Federal Regulations, was enacted after reports of school personnel coercing parents through threats of expulsion, involvement of Child Protective Services, or criminal charges of medical neglect. Many families reported severe side effects in children, and some children and teens died by suicide while taking these drugs.
CCHR's efforts also focused on disclosing the suicide risks of SSRI antidepressants. At the time, Congressman Dan Burton, chairman of the Government Reform Committee, praised CCHR's work, stating, "Through united action, effective education and advocacy, CCHR has helped to bring about critically needed healthcare reform." A senior staffer on the committee added, "The most important impact CCHR has made was the increased awareness on Capitol Hill—that we are forcing medication through schools."
Recent government actions reflect the long fight for disclosure and protection. In May 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to curb psychiatric drug prescribing and assist those wishing to withdraw safely from these drugs, especially antidepressants—a clear call for deprescribing. On July 24, 2026, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo issued guidance recommending against the use of psychotropic drugs in children for mental health conditions, emphasizing the need for a full physical examination before starting any treatment. In 2024, the UK government also called for reduced use of antidepressants and other psychotropics.
At the height of the 2004 federal law reform, a Roll Call article noted CCHR's role in bringing these issues to Congress and observed that the psychiatric lobby was caught off-guard by the legislation's support. CCHR worked with AbleChild.org and the National Foundation of Women Legislators to pass similar prohibitions in 12 states, building momentum for the federal effort.
CCHR was the first patient advocacy group to pressure the FDA to hold a public hearing on antidepressant-induced suicide and violence in 1991. Despite testimony from dozens of patients and family members, the majority of the advisory panel—many with financial ties to pharmaceutical companies—voted against any label change. It took another 13 years of dedicated work before the FDA added black-box warnings for suicidal ideation on SSRIs.
Celebrities such as the late actresses Kirstie Alley and Kelly Preston, both of whom served on CCHR International's board, spoke out in favor of the federal law and testified before the Florida state legislature in 2005. CCHR Florida continued to raise concerns about children being drugged while under involuntary detainment in psychiatric facilities.
Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International, said: "The risk data was always available for anyone willing to listen to patients or press for the facts, and thanks to those who did, there is a cultural shift in the recognition of psychotropic drug risks and the need to be able to safely withdraw from them. They should never be forced onto any child or individual."
The Florida Surgeon General's guidance also reinforced CCHR's long-standing initiative for physical exams before psychiatric treatment. As far back as 1982, CCHR campaigned for Senate Bill 929 in California, which established a pilot project to provide medical evaluations of people in public psychiatric hospitals. The findings, published in 1989, showed that many patients had physical diseases that had been undiagnosed by mental health professionals.
CCHR, established by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, has spent more than four decades as an independent watchdog. The organization has helped enact more than 190 worldwide reforms to protect the public from abuse in the mental health industry.
