The therapy is currently being administered to roughly 50 people at the Judge Rotenberg Education Center in Canton, Massachusetts. It presents “ a number of psychological risks including depression, anxiety, worsening of underlying symptoms, development of post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical risks such as pain, burns, and tissue damage,” according to the FDA. However, the ban didn’t last long, as the Judge Rotenberg Education Center, a facility for people with developmental disabilities and behavioral issues, sued the federal agency, arguing it lacked authority to ban the devices under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The
Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals then ruled in favor of the treatment center, allowing continued use of the electric shock therapy. The newly proposed ban is supported by more than 150 organizations throughout the U.S., including the
American Academy of Pediatrics, the Autism Society of America, the American Association on Health and Disability, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Disability Law Center, and the American Civil Liberties Union. “In the years since this issue was first raised with the FDA, many vulnerable people with disabilities were subjected to electric shocks for behaviors such as getting out of one’s seat, interrupting, whispering, slouching, swearing, or failing to maintain a neat appearance,” the organization added. “As the previously issued rule recognized, vulnerable children and adults are experiencing dramatic short and long-term effects from this abusive treatment every day.” Banning devices is a rare step for the FDA. In fact, it has only banned two other medical devices: prosthetic hair fibers and powdered surgical gloves.