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Did you know that in America, the land of human rights, you can legally be given repeated electric shock treatments, for no reason, for years and years, and no one can help prevent that from happening?
Ray Sandford, 54, lives in a group home in Minneapolis. He has not been charged with any crime, and his mental problems subsided long ago. However, against his will, Ray has received over 40 court ordered shock treatments.
Here are some of the sad facts:
● “Electroshock machines have never been tested for safety or efficacy.
● They were "grandfathered" into the system when the FDA assumed jurisdiction over medical devices in 1976.
● In 1990, Congress ordered the FDA to have shock machines tested.
● Both ECT manufacturers and the closely knit shock advocates--most of who have significant financial interests in ECT--vehemently opposed safety tests.
● The agency went along with the vested stakeholders and failed to comply with the congressional order.
● Electroshock--unlike other medical devices--is most often forced on
non-consenting patients” - Vera Sharav (AHRP)
Beyond the fact that human rights are being trampled, the safety of these devices is not even certain. The Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 is being considered by Congress. If you believe Americans are in need of better protection, please contact your U.S. Representatives and Senators to let them know how you feel. Thank you.
-Hat tip to Vera Sharav of ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)
See: Alliance for Human Research Protection - "Doctors of Deception" Electroshock machines to Undergo safety & efficacy tests
See also: In Their Own Words: ECT Survivor, Advocates Speak Out Against Continued Forced Electroshocks Twin Cities Indymedia Movement Media for Minneapolis-St. Paul
Sunday, April 19, 2009
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These machines are anything but safe. Here's a page on their electrical output. 1/10th of an amp of current through your chest can kill you. The Thymatron DGX is listed as putting out 9/10ths of an amp @ 450 VDC.
ReplyDeleteI've worked with 450-500VDC @ less than 1/20th of an amp, many times, and I have never made a mistake. Anyone working with that kind of charge makes safety a religion.
450 volts are roughly 6400 times more voltage than the neurons in a human brain are supposed to fire at. And as for the amperage itself:
Neurons operate in the nano-amp (nA) range of current @ app. -70mV to +35mV. A nano-amp is One Thousand Millionth, of an Amp, or 10 to the -9th power Amps.
It's no wonder these machines were never approved.