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Article: EDITORIAL: Last hope: Terminally ill people should have access to experimental drugs.
- Article from:
- The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, OH)
- Article date:
- December 20, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Columbus Dispatch. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Dec. 20--Most people can't imagine how it must feel to be ill with a terminal disease, having exhausted all the usual treatment options and just about all hope.
But what if there is one last glimmer of hope: an experimental drug that has shown early promise in testing but has not undergone all of the rigorous testing required by the Food and Drug Administration? Shouldn't terminally ill people have access to drugs that might help them even though these treatments have not yet proved to be safe?
That question is being wrestled with in Washington, and the powers that be seem to be leaning toward giving the patient access. That's the right call.
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