Ireland Bans Electroshock Treatment on Minors, CCHR Applauds

In a landmark move for child mental health rights, Ireland has banned electroshock treatment on minors under its new Mental Health Law enacted in May, as announced by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR). The prohibition protects individuals under 18 from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which delivers up to 460 volts through the brain and can cause severe memory loss, cognitive impairment, and brain damage. CCHR, a mental health industry watchdog, has a long history of advocating for ECT restrictions, having helped secure the first ban on minors under 12 in California in 1976 and later in Texas for those under 16 in 1993. In Western Australia, CCHR supported a ban on children aged 14 and younger in 2014, with criminal penalties for violators.

In the U.S., the FDA has cleared ECT devices for patients 13 and older for three limited conditions, but the practice is widely used off-label. CCHR President Jan Eastgate praised Ireland's officials for recognizing the need to prohibit ECT on minors up to age 17, but emphasized that the ban should extend to all ages. The newly formed Stop ECT Coalition in the U.S., comprising health and human rights organizations representing hundreds of thousands, is urging a review of how ECT devices remain on the market. ECT devices were "grandfathered" into FDA regulation in 1976 as Class III high-risk devices, bypassing modern premarket approval requiring safety and efficacy trials. In 2018, the FDA reclassified them as moderate risk (Class II) without such trials, allowing use on children as young as five and other vulnerable groups. The Coalition notes that involuntary application, still occurring in some U.S. facilities, has been condemned by the United Nations and World Health Organization as a human-rights abuse.

Experts like Dr. John Read, a professor at the University of East London, describe ECT's effects as akin to closed-brain injury, with studies showing brain changes similar to traumatic brain injury. Robert Rubinstein, a former psychiatry professor, compared ECT to "kicking a Swiss watch," while Dr. Niall McLaren stated, "No psychiatrist needs to use ECT." The World Health Organization has warned of ECT's health risks, including brain damage, cardiovascular complications, memory impairment, and death, and recommends banning it for children. CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz, continues to advocate for informed consent rights and has helped enact hundreds of laws worldwide. For more on CCHR's mission, visit their about page.