Although Gaining In Popularity, Right-To-Try Laws’ Ethics Still Up For Debate
Experts weigh in on whether allowing terminally ill patients access to experimental treatments is fair or just provides false hope.
KPCC:
The Ethics Of ‘Right-To-Try’ In California – Exploitation Or Hope?
Right-to-try was created to allow terminally ill patients to try to access experimental therapies that haven’t been fully approved by the FDA. With the backing of two physicians, a terminal patient in California can ask a company for a drug or device that has completed only the first phase of the FDA’s testing... Criticisms of right-to-try are that it could cause patients to lose access to health insurance or hospice, could allow companies to exploit patients, could expose patients to drugs that worsen their already deteriorated condition and that the law unfairly demonizes the FDA when pharma companies are the real problem. (Chudnovsky, 3/21)