{"id":131576,"date":"2025-12-09T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=131576"},"modified":"2025-12-08T17:58:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T22:58:52","slug":"national-coalition-demands-fda-ban-electroshock-devices-and-congress-end-ect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/national-coalition-demands-fda-ban-electroshock-devices-and-congress-end-ect\/","title":{"rendered":"National Coalition Demands FDA Ban Electroshock Devices and Congress End ECT"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 9, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The newly formed Stop ECT Coalition, representing hundreds of thousands of individuals, has launched a nationwide campaign urging review of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\u2019s 2018 rule on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) devices. Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR)<\/a> is among the organizations supporting the initiative, along with the Global Wellness Forum and Stand for Health Freedom.<\/p>\n

\"CCHR:
Image caption: A national coalition of health and human rights organizations, attorneys, medical experts, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) survivors says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration\u2019s 2018 ECT rule is scientifically indefensible and places vulnerable Americans at risk.<\/em><\/p>\n

ECT delivers up to 460 volts of electricity through the brain to induce a grand mal seizure\u2014yet psychiatrists concede that they do not know how the procedure \u201cworks.\u201d More than 80 years after its introduction, neither safety nor efficacy has been scientifically proven.<\/p>\n

ECT devices were \u201cgrandfathered\u201d into FDA regulation as Class III high-risk devices in 1976, bypassing modern requirements for Premarket Approval (PMA), which mandates clinical trials proving safety and effectiveness (SE). In 2018, the FDA down-classified ECT devices to moderate risk (Class II) for certain psychiatric indications, without knowing manufacturers had refused for decades to produce the necessary studies for a PMA and had no intention of doing so.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe incorrect classification allowed ECT devices to be used on children as young as five, pregnant women, seniors, veterans, and other vulnerable persons,\u201d the Coalition states. \u201cInvoluntary use\u2014which still occurs in some U.S. facilities\u2014has been condemned by the United Nations and the World Health Organization as a human-rights abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UN Committee Against Torture has explicitly stated that involuntary ECT can constitute torture. Despite the FDA claiming that involuntary ECT in the U.S. is uncommon and requires court review in every state, legal analysis shows 33 states have no explicit ECT codes, and six states have no ECT laws at all.<\/p>\n

Under 21 U.S.C. \u00a7 360f (Section 516 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), the FDA has authority to ban devices that pose an \u201cunreasonable and substantial risk\u201d of injury. The Coalition argues ECT clearly meets that standard, pointing to decades of documented neurological injury, memory loss, cognitive deficits, and deaths.<\/p>\n

Although the FDA\u2019s rule applies only to a few indications in patients aged 13 and older, psychiatrists can prescribe ECT off-label for any disorder. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) even advocates ECT for children younger than 13.[1]<\/p>\n

During its 2009\u20132010 review, the FDA relied on only 68 studies out of more than 1,160 relevant papers, excluding research documenting neurological injury. Of more than 3,000 public comments, 79% opposed lowering the device\u2019s risk classification.[2] The agency asserted that warning labels and informed consent would mitigate risk. Those labels include the warnings: \u201cECT device use may be associated with disorientation, confusion, and memory problems,\u201d and \u201cThe long-term safety and effectiveness of ECT treatment has not been demonstrated.\u201d[3]<\/p>\n

At the FDA\u2019s 2011 public hearing, a senior academic declared that ECT would remain on the market regardless of evidence.[4] Days earlier, Dr. Matthew Rudorfer of the National Institute of Mental Health told The New York Times that manufacturers viewed required clinical trials as \u201ctoo expensive.\u201d[5]<\/p>\n

ECT\u2019s mechanism requires electrical current to disrupt brain function and trigger a generalized seizure. The FDA acknowledges other including burns, fractures, dental injury, prolonged seizures, cardiovascular complications, stroke, and death. \u201cWhen the mechanism itself causes injury, disclosure cannot prevent it,\u201d said Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International. \u201cConsent forms document what was said\u2014but cannot transform a destructive mechanism into a therapeutic one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether Class II or Class III, the device\u2019s electrical output is identical. This raises fundamental contradictions: how can the same current be \u201cmoderate risk\u201d for depression but \u201chigh risk\u201d for other disorders? What biological mechanism allows electricity to differentiate between diagnoses? Experts call this regulatory fiction, not science.<\/p>\n

Attorney Jonathan Emord wrote in his Citizen Petition: \u201cThe FDA has utterly ignored clear-cut evidence of brain damage, memory loss, and death resulting from ECT. ECT is barbaric and should be removed from the market.\u201d Supporting expert findings include Professor John Read, who concluded ECT offers no long-term benefit over placebo and can cause brain damage[6]; biomedical engineer Dr. Ken Castleman reporting that electrical current becomes heat as it passes through the brain, causing cell dysfunction or death; a 2018 California case in which a jury could reasonably conclude ECT causes brain damage, led a manufacturer to add warnings of \u201cpermanent brain damage\u201d; and the Nebraska Supreme Court (2025) accepted testimony that ECT causes persistent or permanent memory loss and brain damage in up to 55% of recipients.[7]<\/p>\n

International bodies have long condemned ECT use on minors. In 2005, the World Health Organization stated: \u201cThere are no indications for the use of ECT on minors; this should be prohibited through legislation.\u201d U.S. bans include California (1976) and Texas (1993). Western Australia prohibits ECT under age 14, while the Australian Capital Territory bans it under age 12. Yet the FDA dismissed the relevance of these bans.<\/p>\n

The Stop ECT Coalition and CCHR<\/a> urge the new FDA Commissioner and lawmakers to act where the agency has failed. Vulnerable Americans\u2014including children, pregnant women, seniors, veterans, and involuntary patients\u2014deserve protection from a device whose harms are intrinsic and irremediable. Visit StopECT.com to learn more and take action. Watch CCHR\u2019s documentary Therapy or Torture: The Truth About Electroshock<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

To learn more, visit: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/12\/08\/coalition-and-cchr-call-on-fda-to-review-electroshock-device-and-the-need-for-a-ban\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Sources:<\/em><\/p>\n

[1] Resource Document on the FDA Final Order to Reclassify ECT Devices, APA Feb. 2019<\/p>\n

[2] http:\/\/emord.com\/blawg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1-ECT-Citizen-Petition.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[3] https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2018\/12\/26\/2018-27809\/neurological-devices-reclassification-of-electroconvulsive-therapy-devices-effective-date-of<\/a><\/p>\n

[4] https:\/\/wayback.archive-it.org\/7993\/20170114044023\/http:\/\/www.fda.gov\/downloads\/AdvisoryCommittees\/CommitteesMeetingMaterials\/MedicalDevices\/MedicalDevicesAdvisoryCommittee\/NeurologicalDevicesPanel\/UCM247595.pdf<\/a>, pp. 435-436<\/p>\n

[5] Duff Wilson, \u201cF.D.A. Is Studying the Risk of Electroshock Devices,\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, 23 Jan 2011, http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/01\/24\/business\/24shock.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[6] https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/364\/bmj.k5233<\/a>; https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-6738197\/Controversial-electric-shock-treatment-severe-depression-cause-permanent-brain-damage.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[7] https:\/\/www.ctbar.org\/docs\/default-source\/publications\/connecticut-lawyer\/ctl-vol-30\/4-march-april-20\/ctl-marapr-20\u2014treatment-without-consent-cases.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

MULTIMEDIA:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Image link for media: https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-1209-s2p-cchrect-300dpi.webp<\/a><\/p>\n

Image caption: A national coalition of health and human rights organizations, attorneys, medical experts, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) survivors says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration\u2019s 2018 ECT rule is scientifically indefensible and places vulnerable Americans at risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 9, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The newly formed Stop ECT Coalition, representing hundreds of thousands of individuals, has launched a nationwide campaign urging review of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s 2018 rule on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) devices. Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is among the organizations supporting the initiative, along with the Global Wellness Forum and Stand for Health Freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9788,"featured_media":131573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[608,12804,10,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion-news","category-ap","category-california-news","category-los-angeles-news","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":1531,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131576"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131580,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131576\/revisions\/131580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}