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from the lame-shall-walk-and-blind-shall-see dept.
Trump signs 'right to try' drug bill
President Trump signed a bill Wednesday allowing terminally ill patients access to experimental medical treatments not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dubbed "right to try," the law's passage was a major priority of Trump and Vice President Pence, as well as congressional Republicans.
"Thousands of terminally ill Americans will finally have hope, and the fighting chance, and I think it's going to better than a chance, that they will be cured, they will be helped, and be able to be with their families for a long time, or maybe just for a longer time," Trump said at a bill signing ceremony at the White House, surrounded by terminally ill patients and their families.
Trump thanked lawmakers sitting in the audience who sponsored the bill, including Sen. Joe Donnelly, a vulnerable Democrat up for reelection in Indiana.
Also at CNN.
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Also submitted by mrpg
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @03:08AM (1 child)
I wouldn't like a system where the law blocks a patient's right to decide as such. I would like to see more safeguards built in for abuses that have been committed in the past in schemes that are similar to this and for which we have good historical data that they will happen again.
Those safeguards were not in place before this bill was signed (this isn't about D vs R), but more crucially they also are not introduced with this bill which opens up the possibilities and -dare I say- probabilities of those abuses.
This bill just opens the door to the west going: "Hey you guys, just go and grab some land over there and feel free to shoot anyone that stands in your way"
There for sure are beneficiaries of this bill, terminal patients aren't it. They will be used as cheap lab-rats without any form of protection because "they signed this X hundred pages of legalese that now shows they gave /informed/ consent". It's that "being used as cheap lab-rats" that I am very, very worried about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @05:51AM
I remember about 20 years ago people were pushing hard for something like this. I guess people can push to take it away. Whatever.
Sucks to have a long memory