WASHINGTON – After too long of a wait, The Arc celebrates a victory in our seemingly never-ending fight to underscore the value and human dignity of the lives of people with disabilities. After years in limbo, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday it will finally ban the use of the electric shock device that has inflicted painful abuse on residents of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) in Canton, Massachusetts for decades. JRC is an institution for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health issues.

By the FDA’s own count, as many as 50 JRC residents wear the shock device. Staff members use remote controls to administer shocks for perceived misbehavior. JRC uses the barbaric and inhumane practice, despite substantial evidence that the shocks are painful and traumatizing to residents.

“The Arc and The Arc of Massachusetts, alongside several disability rights organizations and empowered self-advocates across the country, fought for decades to ‘stop the shock’ and to end abusive and cruel practices masquerading as ‘behavioral treatments.’ People with disabilities deserve to live free from fear and torture. The FDA’s decision, years in the making, to ban the use of the electric shock device is a hard-fought victory and a testament to what is possible when disability advocates fight their hardest for change and for the civil rights of people with disabilities. We hope the ban is a significant step in ending the use of all aversive procedures on people with disabilities, who deserve to be supported with dignity,” said Peter Berns, CEO, The Arc.