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Last updated on Tuesday, March 24, 2015
(UNDATED) - Governor Pence will sign what’s being called the “right to try” bill into law today.
Pence's office has scheduled a noon ceremony for the signing of the bill that would make Indiana the ninth state with a law allowing terminally ill patients to have treatments that have not received final federal approval. It isn't clear, however, how much access to those treatments patients would actually have.
"Right To Try" laws are designed to allow those who have a terminal illness to try drugs or other treatments that have gone through a first stage of approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA requires three rounds of testing before drugs are approved for use by doctors.
The Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank that lobbies for "right to try" bills across the country, says similar laws are already in place in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming. 25 other states are considering them.
The FDA allows people to apply for treatments that have not been through the full approval process, but the Goldwater Institute and other advocates say dozens have died from their illnesses while waiting for the FDA to approve their applications.
Even after Pence makes "right to try" the law of the state, it would still be up to doctors to provide experimental treatments to patients who want them.
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