End to Electroshock Device Use on Disabled People Lies With FDA

As Massachusetts’ highest court wrestles with the question of whether to end a decades-long clash over the use of a painful electric shock device on people with disabilities, advocates say the US Food and Drug Administration currently has the authority to ban the device and end the fight.

A 35-year-old legal agreement allows the Canton, Mass.-based Judge Rotenberg Center to use a Graduated Electronic Decelerator device on patients with self-injurious behaviors and says the treatment is an important last resort for patients who saw little benefit from medication and other types of treatment.

Parents that send their children to the ...