Godshall Supports Effort to Take His Right-to-Try Law National
The choice to try unproven medical treatments should be available to all eligible Americans who are terminally ill and have exhausted their treatment options
Last fall, I saw my Right-to-Try bill become law, making Pennsylvania the 38th state in the country to permit eligible patients with terminal illnesses to use investigational drugs, biological products and devices not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Now I am supporting efforts in Congress to extend this right to terminally ill patients nationwide.
The FDA approval process aims to protect patients from premature, ineffective and unsafe medications and treatments. However, three rounds of clinical trials can take as long as 15 years to complete, leaving many to die while awaiting treatment. Pennsylvania’s new law permits a manufacturer to make these products available to eligible patients after successful completion of the first phase of clinical trials.
I support legislation, sponsored by Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks/Montgomery), that passed this week in the U.S. House of Representatives, which would make Right-to-Try available nationally, and would block the FDA from preempting existing state laws allowing Right-to-Try. When my bill became law, Fitzpatrick immediately began working to make Right-to-Try available to all eligible Americans.
Faced with certain death, terminally ill patients do not have the luxury of time and often exhaust all available options in the quest to stay alive while treatments are being developed. Right-to-Try gives these patients hope and the ability to seek treatments that could save them or prolong their lives. Since Gov. Tom Wolf signed my bill into law last fall, I have received numerous phone calls and letters from people all over Pennsylvania, thanking me for my efforts and sharing their experiences on how this law is benefitting them or their loved ones. Terminally ill people nationwide should have the right to try experimental treatments in an attempt to save their lives. What we have done here in Pennsylvania and 37 other states should be national policy. I support Congressman Fitzpatrick’s legislation.
After being given only about a year to live, my own life was extended following a successful bone marrow transplant for multiple myeloma about 13 years ago, which provided the time necessary for development of new treatments for my condition. A survivor, I understand the frustration and urgency many terminally ill patients and their families feel when told a treatment that could save them is not yet available. Our new Right-to-Try law gives the terminally ill in Pennsylvania a fighting chance at life, and with passage of Congressman Fitzpatrick’s bill, all eligible Americans will have the same right.
Representative Bob Godshall
53rd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
BobGodshall.com