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Pallone and Pelosi block hope for terminally ill patients

Congressman Frank Pallone

Congressman Frank Pallone and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi rallied House Democrats to block the passage of legislation supported by President Trump that would allow terminally ill patients to try to extend their lives by using experimental drugs that have not been approved by the FDA.

President Trump called for the “right to try” legislation in his State of the Union Address.  The U.S. Senate passed the bill unanimously and there is bi-partisan support for the bill in the House.

The bill was up for a ‘fast track’ vote in the House on Tuesday, which requires passage with votes from two-thirds of the chamber.  The vote was 250 aye to 140 no, falling short of the two-thirds requirement.

Pallone and Pelosi whipped Democrat opposition to the bill on Tuesday prior to the vote.

“By defeating this bill tonight, we protected patients and supported FDA’s continued role in approving experimental treatments that may help save a patient’s life,” said Pallone.

Under the bill, the FDA would be notified if a terminally ill patient used an experimental drug and would be notified of poor outcomes.

Pallone and Pelosi whipped Democrat Members of the House on Tuesday to vote against the fast tracked bill.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California vowed to get the bill passed.  “We will try again, pass legislation, and bring hope to those whose only desire is the right to try to live,” McCarthy said.

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Posted: March 14th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: 2018 Elections, Congress, Frank Pallone, Monmouth County News | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

8 Comments on “Pallone and Pelosi block hope for terminally ill patients”

  1. Kathy Baratta said at 2:14 pm on March 14th, 2018:

    So the tone of this article appears to be you’re against the government protecting consumers from exploitive snake oil salesmen? Am I misinterpreting?

    How can any sensible person not see this as an attempted first step in de-regulating health protection/precautions?

    Thank you, Mr. Pallone for fighting the good fight.

  2. Steve Adams said at 5:10 pm on March 14th, 2018:

    Hey Kathy-
    If you think a government bureaucrat or a thousand of them in their cubicles can make better decisions about your life or death you are not like me.

    I’m fine with you giving up your ability to think for yourself, but please don’t ever try to make that decision for me or my family.
    Thx,
    Steve

  3. Ken M said at 5:12 pm on March 14th, 2018:

    Kathy, what kind of smart phone do you have?

  4. Kathy Baratta said at 1:11 pm on March 15th, 2018:

    Ken M,

    I’m as old-school as they get.I have a ten-year -old flip phone. It sits in my purse on off. I have it solely for the purpose of emergency if I’m not home and I need it. (You know, the car breaks down and I have to call AAA).

    Other than that – nada. I don’t text nor do I EVER talk on the phone in the car. I figure whatever it is, it’ll wait until I land.

    Steve Adams,

    Unlike you, I am smart enough to know there’s a lot I don’t know and that’s why I seek the appropriate professional advice. These “bureaucrats” you so derisively dismiss en masse? Before the Trump regime, these were people educated in a particular expertise or professional discipline overseeing policies and products that can literally mean life or death. Ignorant arrogance like yours is what is responsible for the dumbing down of America. Your plea for mediocrity proves we has reached full rot.

  5. Steve Adams said at 1:31 pm on March 15th, 2018:

    Kathy-
    I’ll gladly compare my resume with yours. Your statement that Trump’s election has resulted in the mass destruction of the government bureaucrat class speaks to your political motivations.

    Note that I didn’t ask that the bureaucrats you claim to be dumbed down to retreat from controlling your life and death decisions. I only asked that you not inflict the same disastrous process on me and my family.

  6. Bob English said at 9:05 pm on March 16th, 2018:

    Pallone’s point is that there should have been the normal hearings held since there are two side to this with dozens of patient advocates groups in opposition. Also note that FDA approves 99 percent of requests it receives to let a patient use an experimental drug.

  7. John Kaplow said at 8:27 am on March 17th, 2018:

    Kathy, thanks for your intelligent input. It’s obviously lost on people who are hell-bent on following tRump’s disastrous path. The FDA has a function – why these folks don’t want to use it is beyond me.

  8. Steve Adams said at 12:10 pm on March 20th, 2018:

    Bob/Kathy-
    The FDA approves experimental/compassionate use applications because they are compelled to by court decisions. See the info below. Limiting availability to patients that have proven they have “exhausted all other options” and then creating a delay with a bureaucratic process would not be my desire if I were likely suffering from a terminal illness.

    ————————–

    Do terminally ill patients who have exhausted all other available, government-approved treatment options have a constitutional right to experimental treatment that may prolong their lives? On May 2, 2006, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in a startling opinion, Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. Eschenbach, held “Yes.” The plaintiffs, Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs and Washington Legal Foundation, sought to enjoin the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) from refusing to allow the sale of investigational new drugs that had not yet been FDA-approval for marketing.