Sen. Ron Johnson attempted to seize momentum Friday for his “Right to Try” bill after President Trump in the State of the Union address endorsed the measure that gives terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs.
“The president has made it clear he supports giving terminally ill patients the ’Right to Try,’” said Mr. Johnson, Wisconsin Republican. “Hopefully, the House will pass the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act immediately so that President Trump can sign it into law and give terminally ill patients the right to hope.”
The bill, named for terminally ill patients who championed “Right to Try,” passed the Senate in August but stalled in the House.
The push to help the terminally ill was one of several bipartisan action items Mr. Trump rolled out in his State of the Union address, along with an infrastructure program and paid family leave.
The “Right to Try” bill’s chief sponsors, Mr. Johnson and Sen. Joe Donnelly, Indiana Democrat, have been pressing the House Energy and Commerce Committee to take up the legislation.
Mr. Trump also called for the legislation in a speech Thursday to the Republican policy retreat in West Virginia.
Vice President Mike Pence has championed the issue. He signed a Right to Try law as governor of Indiana.
Thirty-eight states have passed right to try bills on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis.
Opponents argue that it would weaken FDA authority and could undermine drug development and potentially endanger patents’ lives.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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