RE bill A09082 on reporting law

As I have just stated, court-ordered electroshock should be illegal. Therefore, I recommend striking section A2 that counts the number of patients for whom a court order was sought. There should be none.

Electroshock is unnecessary

It has been said that a bad solution is one that acts destructively on the larger pattern or system in which it is contained. A good solution, then, is one that is good for the whole. What is good for the brain is good for the body. What is good for the body is good for the mind is good for the soul. Granted sometimes a part is sacrificed for the whole. A malignant brain tumor or a gangrenous leg may be removed to save a life. But we know that such remedies are desperate, irreversible, and destructive; it is impossible to improve the body by these actions. Electroshock is like these surgeries in being a desperate, irreversible and destructive act.

Electroshock does not save lives, and is absolutely not necessary. There are many causes for depression. Some are physical and respond well to legitimate medical treatments for conditions such as diabetes, liver or kidney problems, or thyroid malfunction. Some are related to psychological trauma or grief and loss, and respond well to emotional healing techniques. Many are social and respond well to closeness and affection and renewal of community. These are good solutions, for the whole individual, and for the community, including our precious elders whom psychiatrists are most wont to electroshock.

Let me conclude with what I think is an arresting image. In her novel, Beloved, Toni Morrison describes the farm where her character grew up as a slave: "It never looked as terrible as it was and it made her wonder if Hell was a pretty place too. Fire and brimstone all right, but hidden in lacy groves. Boys hanging from the most beautiful sycamores in the world."

Boys hanging dead from the most beautiful sycamores in the world.
Unconscious, brain-damaged patients lying on electroshock tables in the most impressive psychiatric institutions doing electroshock research funded by the government of the United States through the most prestigious National Institutes of Mental Health.

Boys hanging, dead.
Victims of forced electroshock, brains damaged, memory lost, potential healing suppressed, sometimes dead.

At the dawn of the 20th century in the United States, a black Southerner died at the hands of a white mob more than once a week. Society accepted the practice; some newspapers not only covered lynchings, but even advertised them. At the dawn of the 21st century, psychiatrists electroshock about 2,000 United States citizens every week. Society accepts the practice; the media not only covers it, but even promotes it.

Just as brave leaders and activists won civil rights legislation that lead to a massive decline in the dehumanizing and degrading practice of racism, activists are now challenging the brutal practice of electroshock. Through the good efforts of this committee, New York's legislature now has the opportunity to enact a landmark law regulating and restricting the use of electroshock which hopefully will lead one day to the abolition of this procedure, and thereby the establishment of a more just and humane society. Thank you.

References

American Psychiatric Association (2001) The Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy: Recommendations for Treatment, Training, and Privileging, Second Edition.

Benedict, A. & Saks, M. (1987) The regulation of professional behavior: Electroconvulsive therapy in Massachusetts. The Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 15,2,247-275.

Roe, D., Lereya, J. & Fennig, S. (2001) Comparing patients' and staff members' attitudes: Does patients' competence to disagree mean they are not competent. The Journal of Mental and Nervous Disease, 189:307-310.

Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy (1/17/95) Informed consent for electroconvulsive therapy: A report on violations of patients' rights by St. Mary's Hospital, Madison, WI. WCA, 16 N. Carroll St., Madison, WI. 53703.

More testimony:
Anna Szyszko - on her brother, Adam
Linda Andre - Director of Committee for Truth in Psychiatry
Leonard Roy Frank - Support Coalition International
Dr. John Friedberg - Neurologist
Anne Krauss - Former staff member - NY Office of Mental Health

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