Strict standards of fully informed consent are supposed to be applied in the controversial procedure. During their first term, the Clinton Administration made headlines denouncing coerced experimentation on people with mental disabilities, conducted during previous administrations. As well as Medicare funding of forced shock, the Veterans Administration is also directly involved in the occasional use of forced electroshock against the expressed wishes of the subject. The human rights alliance Support Coalition organized a campaign in which hundreds of people phoned, faxed, e-mailed, and wrote to the Clinton Administration about the rise of human rights violations in the use of electroshock. The public outrage was fueled by documented widespread use of flawed informed consent for the procedure, and even instances of physically-forced electroshock against the subject's expressed wishes, paid for by the taxpayers.
Elder women are the most typical targets.
The federal VA system is also an offender. Either way, action can be demanded from Congresspeople, including ten who have written to Sec. Arons juggled the task between four consecutive federal employees, and then contracted out this hot potato to a non-governmental organization. In the past, CMHS has considered public posting of its statements sufficient response, rather than responding to each and every request for information. Because of CMHS dodging and foot-dragging, it is advised to contact the CMHS parent agency.