Arthur Caplan

Art Caplan on ‘Right to Try’ Law: More Cruel Than Compassionate

Art Caplan has a new opinion piece up at NBC News on Colorado’s new “right to try” law, which “expands access to experimental medications, making it legal for the terminally ill to seek access to drugs that have not yet received FDA approval.” From the article: Colorado has become the first state to enact a so-called “right to try”…

Art Caplan has a new opinion piece up at NBC News on Colorado’s new “right to try” law, which “expands access to experimental medications, making it legal for the terminally ill to seek access to drugs that have not yet received FDA approval.” From the article:

Colorado has become the first state to enact a so-called “right to try” law that expands access to experimental medications, making it legal for the terminally ill to seek access to drugs that have not yet received FDA approval. Many others are considering doing the same thing.

Politicians know a surefire winning issue when they see one. Sounds like a great idea? The truth is, such laws are utterly inadequate for helping the dying and the desperate. They would better be described as “right to beg” laws — a right which, sadly, the terminally ill already have and already use in social media campaigns.

Read the full article.