Stop the electric shock treatment at the Judge Rotenberg Center
The Issue
For over four decades, the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton Massachusetts has used controversial and cruel behavior control methods including electric shock, food deprivation, and prolonged restraint against children & adults with disabilities and troubled teens. Horrifically painful shock is used for innocuous behaviors like taking one's eyes off their work or making noises. These methods have resulted in severe trauma, injuries, and lasting psychological consequences. It is time to take a stand and demand change.
The use of electric shock as a form of punishment or behavior control is not only counter to all professionally accepted standards, it is inhumane and unnecessary. People can be supported using humane and effective behavioral practices. Inflicting pain on vulnerable people violates their fundamental rights and undermines the very fabric of compassion and understanding that should be at the heart of any therapeutic program.
In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized the dangers posed by electric shock devices and issued a ban on their use. However, due to subsequent appeals and legal loopholes, the ban was never implemented, leaving the approximately 325 children & adults at the Judge Rotenberg Center subjected to these cruel techniques. It has been six years since the FDA announced the ban on these devices; is imperative that the FDA acts swiftly to enforce this ban without further delay.
This petition also calls on state and federal governments to take decisive action to outlaw the use of pain as a method of behavior control. The United Nations has classified the use of electric shock at the Judge Rotenberg Center as torture, yet the practice continues unchecked. Government agencies are charged with safeguarding the rights of vulnerable people. We call on them to conform with international human rights law put legal protections into place, especially on behalf of those who cannot advocate for themselves. We call on all school districts and state governments to stop sending people to this facility where they are subjected to inhuman behavioral methods that, in most cases, would not be legal within their own states.
The suffering of individuals at the Judge Rotenberg Center is not just a personal tragedy but a collective moral failing that demands urgent attention. Through this petition we are urging the FDA and our legislators to take immediate and decisive steps to end the cruel practices at the Judge Rotenberg Center once and for all.
Sign this petition to demand the immediate enforcement of the FDA's ban on shock devices and push for legislative action to permanently ban the use of electric shock and similar punitive measures for behavior control. Tell states and school districts to stop sending people to this facility. Together, we can stop this cruelty and advance toward a more humane and ethical approach to treatment and care.
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The Issue
For over four decades, the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton Massachusetts has used controversial and cruel behavior control methods including electric shock, food deprivation, and prolonged restraint against children & adults with disabilities and troubled teens. Horrifically painful shock is used for innocuous behaviors like taking one's eyes off their work or making noises. These methods have resulted in severe trauma, injuries, and lasting psychological consequences. It is time to take a stand and demand change.
The use of electric shock as a form of punishment or behavior control is not only counter to all professionally accepted standards, it is inhumane and unnecessary. People can be supported using humane and effective behavioral practices. Inflicting pain on vulnerable people violates their fundamental rights and undermines the very fabric of compassion and understanding that should be at the heart of any therapeutic program.
In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized the dangers posed by electric shock devices and issued a ban on their use. However, due to subsequent appeals and legal loopholes, the ban was never implemented, leaving the approximately 325 children & adults at the Judge Rotenberg Center subjected to these cruel techniques. It has been six years since the FDA announced the ban on these devices; is imperative that the FDA acts swiftly to enforce this ban without further delay.
This petition also calls on state and federal governments to take decisive action to outlaw the use of pain as a method of behavior control. The United Nations has classified the use of electric shock at the Judge Rotenberg Center as torture, yet the practice continues unchecked. Government agencies are charged with safeguarding the rights of vulnerable people. We call on them to conform with international human rights law put legal protections into place, especially on behalf of those who cannot advocate for themselves. We call on all school districts and state governments to stop sending people to this facility where they are subjected to inhuman behavioral methods that, in most cases, would not be legal within their own states.
The suffering of individuals at the Judge Rotenberg Center is not just a personal tragedy but a collective moral failing that demands urgent attention. Through this petition we are urging the FDA and our legislators to take immediate and decisive steps to end the cruel practices at the Judge Rotenberg Center once and for all.
Sign this petition to demand the immediate enforcement of the FDA's ban on shock devices and push for legislative action to permanently ban the use of electric shock and similar punitive measures for behavior control. Tell states and school districts to stop sending people to this facility. Together, we can stop this cruelty and advance toward a more humane and ethical approach to treatment and care.
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Petition created on August 30, 2026