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Last updated on Thursday, February 1, 2018
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly again called on the House of Representatives to take up and pass his bipartisan ‘Right to Try’ legislation, which passed the Senate last August.
Donnelly introduced the legislation with Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) in 2017. During last night's State of the Union address, President Trump called on Congress to pass 'Right to Try' legislation, which would allow terminally ill patients who have exhausted all approved treatment options to access certain investigational drugs for treatment. Nearly forty states have passed right to try bills.
Donnelly said, "We should be giving families the right to try, and the chance to exhaust every option available to treat terminally ill loved ones. I've been inspired by Hoosiers advocating for this legislation, including the McLinn family, who are just asking for the ability to access potentially life-saving, clinically tested medical treatments before time runs out."
Donnelly first met Indianapolis resident Laura McLinn and her son Jordan McLinn--who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease with no cure--in early 2016. Donnelly has met with the McLinn family many times and worked closely with them to advance this legislation.
In October 2017, Donnelly and Johnson sent the House Energy and Commerce Committee a letter urging it to pass the bill. The Donnelly-Johnson bill that passed the Senate in August can be found here. Vice President Pence and the White House also indicated their support of right to try earlier this year.
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