Man undergoing electroshock treatment fights to end medical procedures
ST. PAUL, Minn. — For the past year, David Russell has been at Regions Hospital held on a court-ordered civil commitment.
He was given 17 shock treatments at Mayo Clinic to treat his mental illness. Now, doctors at Regions Hospital are petitioning the courts to do more.
"This is the third electroshock-forced electroshock case in Minnesota that we've put an alert out, " said Attorney Jim Gottstein.
Gottstein has spoken with Russell and volunteers his time to fight against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock.
"Not only is he committed but a guardianship has been appointed over him," Gottstein said.
Because of the guardianship, Gottstein says Russell is considered incompetent and the court can make a decision based on what doctors want.
He believes Russell is not a good candidate for ECT.
"The usual reason for giving electric shock is if someone is severely depressed and this is supposed to shock them out of that. The FDA only approves it for Catania but, in this case, Mr. Russell is not diagnosed with depression. He is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder which is not a normal indication for electro shock, " Gottstein said.
ECT involves attaching electrodes to a patient's head and delivering an electrical current to the brain to produce a seizure.
Gottstein believes further electroshock treatments could impact Russell's ability to return to society and take care of himself.
"He's a software engineer and it's really a question of how much electric shock he can endure and have any chance of going back to that, " Gottstein said.
In Minnesota, doctors can't administer anti-psychotic medication unless the patient consents or its an emergency, even if they are civilly committed. However, in rare cases, courts can hold hearings to force patients to take the drugs or ECT.
A judge will hear doctors request for continued electroshock treatment for Russell Monday morning.
