Deborah Schwartzkopff, Author at ECT Justice!

Jonathan Emord Goes Round Two with the FDA on Electroshock Devices

August 24, 2017 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Attorney Jonathan Emord and his co-counsel Kendrick Moxon have filed a Supplement to their Citizen Petition of August 2016, protesting the FDA’s Proposed Order to reclassify and make more readily available the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Device used to give “shock-treatment.” The reclassification would make it easier for doctors to give the treatment.

Shock treatment is well-known as the punishment given actor Jack Nicholson in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. More recently it was portrayed in the TV series Homeland when given to the star, destroying her memory and intelligence. Memory loss and brain damage are the central issue in the attorneys’ filing.

FDA This is shaping up to be a David and Goliath scenario with individuals damaged by ECT on one side and the FDA, under pressure from the industry that profits from ECT, on the other.

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Attorney Jonathan Emord Takes on the FDA Over Electroshock (ECT) Device

August 25, 2016 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — In December 2015, the FDA issued a proposed order to down-classify the device used to deliver electroshock therapy. Today, Attorney Jonathan Emord filed a Citizens Petition with the FDA on behalf of 5 individuals who were damaged by electroshock.

I hope this is the beginning of the path to do away with shock [ECT]. Hopefully it’ll go the way of lobotomies, another ‘miracle treatment’.
ECT survivor, shocked as a teenager.

Most people surveyed thought electroshock therapy, also called electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, did go the way of lobotomies. In fact, a conservative estimate is that over 100,000 individuals receive electroshock therapy each year in the U.S. Actual numbers are not available because there is no tracking of this.

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Stop FDA from Down-Classifying the Electroshock Device – MindFreedom International

April 4, 2016 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

Sign MindFreedom International’s Petition

There is a long history of the FDA attempting to remove the experimental status of the shock device. There is an even longer history of those who have been subjected to shock treatment and their allies working to expose the damage shock treatment causes. Shock treatment has robbed people of the memories of their lives, their education, skills, passions, relationships, children, significant others, and total sense of oneself. For decades, when proper rule-making processes were upheld, the voices of those whose lives were destroyed by shock treatment reached those in power and prevented the down-classification of the shock device from happening.

Read & sign the petition ->

Comments by Shock Survivors & Their Loved Ones – Mad in America

April 4, 2016 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

Lauren Tenney, PhD, MPhil, MPA, is a psychiatric survivor and environmental psychologist.

The #FDAStopTheShockDevice petition has received over 2,200 signatures and 800+ comments. A more thorough analysis of those comments is forthcoming, however, we wanted to offer a glimpse of what people shared. The sixth, seventh, and eighth most common words used in the comments submitted through the petition were “damage,” “barbaric” and “torture.” We must continue the fight to make sure that the FDA hears the people who will be adversely affected by the proposed rule if it becomes an order. There is still a small window of time for you to sign the petition and leave a comment to the FDA.

Read full article in Mad in America ->

The FDA Wants to Approve ECT Without Testing – Mad in America

January 7, 2016 By Deborah Schwartzkopff

Dr. Peter Breggin’s response to the FDA’s proposal.

On December 29, 2015, the FDA proposed reclassifying ECT, essentially approving of its routine clinical use. The FDA describes its recommendation as follows:

… To support reclassification of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Devices into class II (special controls) for severe major depressive episode (MDE) associated with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Bipolar Disorder (BPD) in patients 18 years of age and older who are treatment-resistant or who require a rapid response due to the severity of their psychiatric or medical condition.

The FDA is also proposing specific warnings that should go along with the ECT devices. The strongest of the warnings — “Warning: ECT device use may be associated with: disorientation, confusion, and memory problems” — is grossly inadequate and misleading.

In response to the FDA’s request for responses, I submitted the following statement…