[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 132 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S11482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 276--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
ATTACHMENT THERAPY TECHNIQUE KNOW AS REBIRTHING IS A DANGEROUS PRACTICE 
                        AND SHOULD BE PROHIBITED

  Mr. SALAZAR (for himself, Mr. Burr, and Mrs. Dole) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 276

       Whereas ``rebirthing'' is the most dangerous form of 
     attachment therapy, a controversial and scientifically 
     unsupported form of therapy that claims to treat emotionally 
     disturbed children by using physical restraints;
       Whereas rebirthing techniques attempt to reenact the birth 
     process by restraining a child with blankets or other 
     materials and forcing the child to emerge unaided;
       Whereas rebirthing techniques are based on the erroneous 
     assumption that a reenactment of the birth process will treat 
     children with reactive attachment disorder, a psychiatric 
     condition characterized by the inability to form emotional 
     attachments, by purging the child of rage resulting from past 
     mistreatment and allowing the child to form stronger 
     emotional attachments in the future;
       Whereas attachment therapists claim rebirthing techniques 
     create new bonds between adopted children and adoptive 
     parents and often use rebirthing techniques in therapy 
     sessions with adoptive families;
       Whereas in 2000, Candace Newmaker, a 10-year-old child from 
     North Carolina, died from suffocation, after being wrapped in 
     flannel sheets, covered with pillows, and leaned on by 4 
     adults to simulate contractions, when Candace became trapped 
     by the sheets because she was forcibly restrained by these 
     adults and could not emerge through her own efforts to be 
     reborn into her adoptive family;
       Whereas between 1995 and 2005, at least 4 other children in 
     the United States have died from other forms of attachment 
     therapy;
       Whereas the American Psychiatric Association, a national 
     medical specialty society that focuses on the diagnosis, 
     treatment, and prevention of mental illnesses, maintains that 
     no scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of 
     rebirthing techniques;
       Whereas in 2002, Paul S. Appelbaum, M.D., President of the 
     American Psychiatric Association, condemned rebirthing 
     techniques as ``extreme methods [that] pose serious risk and 
     should not be used under any circumstances''; and
       Whereas several States have enacted or are considering 
     legislation to prohibit the use of rebirthing techniques: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) rebirthing, an attachment therapy technique that 
     reenacts the birth process by physically restraining a child 
     and forcing the child to emerge unaided, is dangerous, 
     potentially life-threatening, and unsupported by scientific 
     evidence; and
       (2) each State should enact laws prohibiting the use of 
     rebirthing techniques.

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