policies

Right to Try 2.0 Passes in Arizona

After testifying at the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives, sharing our family’s story and how the expansion of the original Right to Try Bill could help families like ours, I’m thrilled to share that Right to Try 2.0 has passed and was signed by Governor Doug Ducey!

Right to Try 2.0 is a first-in-the-nation reform that will empower seriously ill Arizonans to access personalized treatments that have yet to receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Goldwater Institute

We had the pleasure of meeting Governor Ducey last week during the Ceremonial Bill Signing at the Arizona State Capitol. The girls were thrilled to go (after a quick lesson in US government so they knew what a Governor, Senator and a Bill is).

Governor Ducey, Senator Nancy Barto and myself all spoke before he signed the Bill. You can view a portion of that here:

The Goldwater Institute’s Right to Try for Individualized Treatments reform builds on the original Right to Try law and protects patients’ right to try to save their own lives by seeking treatments tailor-made for them that are not yet FDA-approved. This common-sense measure accounts for new innovations in medicine and helps get those innovations to the patients who need them the most.

As I mentioned in my speech, the United States is the greatest country on earth and access to life-saving medical treatments should be among its many benefits. We are thrilled Arizonans now have that right and are hopeful other states – and eventually the nation – will follow suit.

You can read more about Right to Try 2.0 and our efforts here on Reason.com.

And here some photos from the signing at the Arizona State Capitol:

Photos by Neal Mei Photography, courtesy of the Goldwater Institute.

Testifying for Updated Right To Try in the Arizona Senate

Back when we got Keira’s diagnosis in June of 2020 and were figuring out a plan for her treatment I was connected to Arizona Senator Nancy Barto and the Goldwater Institute. With the Right To Try bill having already passed (in AZ in 2014 and federally in 2018) they thought maybe there was a chance for us to use this to our advantage but unfortunately it only encompassed groups of individuals (that could lead to clinical trials); not for individuals on a case-by-case basis.

Fast forward to last week when I was contacted by the Goldwater Institute who asked me to help them expand upon this right-to-try bill by sharing our family’s story and testifying at the Arizona Senate next week. What for?? To expand the bill to cover individuals that need life-saving treatment. My jaw dropped. This is AMAZING.

Former Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater who founded the Goldwater Institute in 1988

Had this been in place when Keira needed it (and the treatment was in place within the US and being offered by the drug company) we could have had her treatment done in the States without having to fundraise hundreds of thousands of dollars and moving our family halfway around the world for 5 months.

So, naturally, I jumped at this chance and on February 2nd will be off to the Arizona Capitol to meet with the Goldwater Institute and Senator Nancy Barto’s Health and Human Services Committee to testify in support of patients getting access to individualized treatments without having to beg the federal government for permission to save their own or their loved one’s life and without having to cross an ocean to do so.

Arizona Senator Nancy Barto

The proposed legislation adheres to the strictest patient protections and physician involvement, ensuring that these treatments work in tandem with the highest standards of care.

Should this pass in Arizona, as the original Right to Try bill did (view more on that here), other states will likely follow suit and then the federal government to follow.

A copy of the bill – the Right to Try for Individualized Treatments – sponsored by Senator Nancy Barto within the Arizona legislature be found here:

https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/55leg/2R/bills/SB1163P.pdf

I can’t even imagine how many lives will be prolonged or saved entirely by doing this and it brings to tears to my eyes thinking of all the other special needs families out there who have always held on to hope for a chance like this. A chance at healing. A chance at a normal life. Something every single one of us deserves.

I am beyond honored to have this opportunity to share our family’s story in hopes that it can truly make a difference. I will be sure to keep everyone updated as this moves forward within the Arizona legislature.