By — Stephen Fee Stephen Fee Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/proposed-right-try-legislation-meets-debate-missouri Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Proposed laws on experimental drugs stir debate Health Jun 21, 2014 1:30 PM EDT This May, Colorado’s governor signed the nation’s first “right to try” bill, which allows terminally ill patients to try unapproved — and potentially dangerous — drugs outside of clinical trials and without approval from federal regulators. Missouri and Louisiana have passed similar statutes, and Arizona voters will vote on their own version this fall. Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News joins NewsHour Weekend for a Google+ hangout on the current status of the debate surrounding “right to try.” For the NewsHour Weekend broadcast, we profiled the Missouri State Representative Jim Neely who introduced that state’s bill and his daughter, who is fighting a deadly form of cancer. Neely is backed by Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute and by patients and families who have lost relatives to diseases, but the proposed measure is not without controversy. While FDA remains neutral in the legislation debate, there are opponents to these type of laws. To get more context about the debate surrounding “right to try,” I spoke with Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Stephen Fee Stephen Fee Stephen Fee is a producer and on-air reporter for PBS NewsHour Weekend. Since joining the broadcast in January 2014, he's reported on the obesity crisis in Mexico, the safety risks of the US shale oil boom, and the debate over terminally ill people using experimental drugs, among other stories. @stephenmfee
This May, Colorado’s governor signed the nation’s first “right to try” bill, which allows terminally ill patients to try unapproved — and potentially dangerous — drugs outside of clinical trials and without approval from federal regulators. Missouri and Louisiana have passed similar statutes, and Arizona voters will vote on their own version this fall. Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News joins NewsHour Weekend for a Google+ hangout on the current status of the debate surrounding “right to try.” For the NewsHour Weekend broadcast, we profiled the Missouri State Representative Jim Neely who introduced that state’s bill and his daughter, who is fighting a deadly form of cancer. Neely is backed by Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute and by patients and families who have lost relatives to diseases, but the proposed measure is not without controversy. While FDA remains neutral in the legislation debate, there are opponents to these type of laws. To get more context about the debate surrounding “right to try,” I spoke with Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now