HB 831

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to electroconvulsive therapy and
3	psychosurgical procedures; amending s. 458.325, F.S.;
4	prohibiting the administration of electroconvulsive
5	therapy and psychosurgery on persons younger than 18 years
6	of age; providing an effective date.
7
8	WHEREAS, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an experimental
9	technique with unknown mechanism of action the efficacy of which
10	has never been proven and which has dangerous and potentially
11	permanent harmful or life-threatening side effects, including
12	brain damage and memory loss, the extent of which have never
13	been tested, and
14	WHEREAS, literature regarding the administration of ECT on
15	children and adolescents consists mainly of single case reports
16	and uncontrolled studies and offers no controlled studies, no
17	reliably applied criteria, and no valid assessment scales, and
18	WHEREAS, ECT devices are classified as Class III devices by
19	the Federal Drug Administration, the most stringent regulatory
20	category covering "those [devices] for which insufficient
21	information exists to [ensure] safety and effectiveness" and
22	"which present a potential, unreasonable risk of illness or
23	injury," and
24	WHEREAS, psychosurgery is an experimental technique the
25	efficacy of which has never been proven and which has dangerous,
26	permanent, and potentially life-threatening side effects, and
27	WHEREAS, the use of invasive and possibly damaging
28	treatment with unknown mechanisms and without scientific basis
29	in the context of still-developing neurological systems of
30	children and adolescents cannot be justified, and
31	WHEREAS, on January 20, 2000, the National Council on
32	Disability, an independent federal agency, made recommendations
33	to the President and Congress that included the following:
34	"Mental health treatment should be about healing, not
35	punishment. Accordingly, the use of aversive treatments,
36	including physical and chemical restraints, seclusion, and
37	similar techniques that restrict freedom of movement, should be
38	banned. Also, public policy should move toward the elimination
39	of electro-convulsive therapy and psycho surgery as unproven and
40	inherently inhumane procedures. Effective humane alternatives to
41	these techniques exist now and should be promoted," NOW,
42	THEREFORE,
43
44	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46	Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 458.325, Florida
47	Statutes, is amended, and subsection (3) is added to that
48	section, to read:
49	458.325  Electroconvulsive and psychosurgical procedures.--
50	(1)  In each case of utilization of electroconvulsive or
51	psychosurgical procedures, prior written consent shall be
52	obtained after disclosure to the patient, if he or she is
53	competent, or to the patient's guardian, if he or she is a minor
54	or incompetent, of the purpose of the procedure, the common side
55	effects thereof, alternative treatment modalities, and the
56	approximate number of such procedures considered necessary and
57	that any consent given may be revoked by the patient or the
58	patient's guardian prior to or between treatments.
59	(3)  The administration of electroconvulsive therapy and
60	psychosurgery on persons younger than 18 years of age is
61	prohibited.
62	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.