Court Blocks FDA’s Attempt To Ban Electroshock Device

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals says the US agency can’t ban a device for certain indications while allowing it to remain on the market for others.

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals in Washington, DC
• Source: Alamy

The US Food and Drug Administration unlawfully interfered with the practice of medicine by trying to ban an electroshock device used to modify the behavior of young people with developmental disabilities, an appeals court ruled on 6 July.

The lawsuit, The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center v. The US Food and Drug Administration, was brought by a school in Canton, MA, that uses electrical stimulation devices (ESDs) to correct...

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