In March 2024, the Food and Drug Administration under President Joe Biden introduced a new rule that would have banned, after decades, the use of electric shocks on disabled children as a form of punishment. A ban on forcibly shocking kids—which the American Academy of Pediatrics says causes “long-lasting adverse physical and psychological impacts,” was set to come into force last year—but the Trump FDA kicked the can down the road, giving itself more time to decide whether its new leadership was on board.
Now, two years later, the FDA’s website claims that a decision will be made in the coming days on whether or not to follow through.
Massachusetts’ Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC), the focus of a 2007 Mother Jones investigation, remains the only known US institution to use electric shock devices to control—and punish—disabled youths in its care, many of whom are autistic or have mental illnesses, like schizophrenia.
Holy fucking shit, how can anyone say no to banning that!? I have two autistic brothers, one of them severe and non-verbal. I will admit that caring for him has placed a very heavy burden on our family, but never once even in our darkest moments have any of us ever considered something so cruel. If I knew of someone doing this I would at a minimum shatter their fucking jaw. And I consider myself a pretty pacifistic person in general. I know this administration is downright evil, but this is a real easy fucking win. Why in God’s green earth would you hesitate on something like this unless it’s purely for cruelty’s sake? I mean, I suppose I would not put it past this administration in the least, but god damn man.