In May, Ireland banned the use of electroshock treatment on minors under its Mental Health Law. This now safeguards those younger than 18 from the brutal practice that delivers up to
460 volts of electricity through the brain, causing severe memory loss and cognitive and brain damage.

     In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the use of ECT devices for those 13 and older for three limited conditions. However, it is broadly administered off-label, a practice that needs to stop and which a total ban would achieve.

     CCHR helped obtain the first law banning ECT use on minors under 12 in California in 1976, then again in Texas on minors under 16 in 1993. In Western Australia, it had the practice banned on those aged 14 and younger in 2014, with the Mental Health Act enacting criminal penalties for anyone administering it to a child.

     Ireland’s officials are praised for recognizing the need to prohibit ECT’s use on minors, increasing the age to 17. However, like thousands who called for ECT to be banned in the U.S. under the FDA’s Final Rule in 2018, the ban should be extended to all ages. It is an
abhorrent practice.

     The Human Rights Institute in Ireland reported, “The adoption of the Mental Health Act in Ireland can be regarded as one of the country’s significant developments in the advancement of human rights and in the reconsideration of the relationship between health, human dignity, and the public responsibilities of the state.”

     The Irish Mental Health Commission noted, “The most significant right potentially affected by this legislation is the right to liberty and personal security.”