A bill filed in Oklahoma would effectively nullify some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that prevent treatments from being used by terminally ill patients.

Introduced by State Rep. Richard Morrissette, House Bill 1074 (HB1074) is another pushback against the FDA and their controversial methodology of approving drugs for mass consumption.

Under HB1074, a patient is eligible for experimental drugs or procedures not yet approved by federal regulators if they suffer from a terminal illness. .

At the same time, insurance companies can deny coverage to an eligible patient once they begin use of the investigational drug for six months. However, coverage can’t be denied for a preexisting condition and for coverage for benefits which “commenced prior to the time the eligible patient begins use of such drug, biological product or device.”

The bill also prohibits state officials from blocking a patient’s access to experimental drugs.

In addition, HB1074 states offers protection for health care providers:

“Notwithstanding any other law, a licensing board may not revoke, fail to renew, suspend or take any action against a health care provider’s license, based solely on the health care provider’s recommendations to an eligible patient regarding access to or treatment with an investigational drug, biological product or device, as long as the recommendations are consistent with medical standards of care. Action against a health care provider’s Medicare certification based solely on the health care provider’s recommendation that a patient have access to an investigational drug, biological product or device is prohibited.”

HB1074 is scheduled for its first reading on February 2.

The bill is a part of a greater trend promoting medical freedom that is sweeping the nation. During this most recent November election, Arizona residents approved Prop. 303, known as the Arizona Terminal Patients’ Right to Try Referendum. The proposition allows investigational drugs, biological products or devices to be made available to eligible terminally ill patients, which are not permitted under the FDA. Prop. 303 is similar to laws passed in ColoradoMichiganMissouri, and Louisiana, known as “Right to Try” laws.

These laws, though they deal with a small aspect of the FDA’s regulations, provides us with a clear model of how to nullify federal laws that violate the Constitution by narrowing the influence of nullification to limited aspects of the law itself.

The effectiveness of such nullification laws rests in the obvious logic behind them; dying people should not be deprived of their right to any means that might ease their pain or keep them alive, and it is extremely difficult for opponents to argue that dying people should be forced to use only drugs approved of by bureaucrats who are incapable of empathizing with their possible suffering.

In Louisiana, for example, the law received 80 percent approval, according to one survey. In three of the states that have passed “Right to Try” laws, not a single politician voted nay. In Michigan, the entire state House voted yea with no abstentions, while only two senators voted against it.

These types of laws are necessary because of the cumbersome bureaucratic process deployed by the FDA. It can take more than a decade and a billion dollars to get new medications on the market, according to Lucy Caldwell, communications director for the Goldwater Institute.

One such example is that of Mikaela Knapp, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

According to a World Net Daily report:

She and her husband, Keith, launched a social media campaign to lobby drug firms and the FDA to give her access to a new gene therapy. Their efforts gained national attention and generated 200,000 signatures on a petition at Change.org but failed to win access to the treatment. The 25-year-old newlywed died April 24.

Under a free market (and if the feds adhered to the Constitution) the therapy would have been available for Knapp already. She would not have had to seek anyone’s permission, which she died waiting for.

This is simply unacceptable. Whatever the dangers inherent in trying experiment drugs, this is a decision that should rest solely with the person consuming the drug, not busybodies, do-gooders, or sanctimonious control freaks.

There may be those who reject the nullification method and opt instead to work within the system in D.C., but they shouldn’t get their hopes up. In 2003, a federal judge ruled that terminally ill people do not have a right to access to investigational medicine. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal on that ruling.

That is why bills such as HB1074 are so important. Because federal regulatory agencies and courts refuse to show compassion for terminally ill patients, we must step up at the state level to help them. It is truly a matter of life and death.

ACTION ITEMS

For Oklahoma: Support this bill by following at the action steps at THIS LINK

For other states: Take action to help terminally-ill patients in your state at this link.

TJ Martinell

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