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Governor Signs Right to Try Bill

Bill allows terminally ill patients to seek experimental medical treatments

By Molly Priddy

HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock has signed a bill allowing terminally ill patients to seek experimental medical treatments.

Senate Bill 142 passed the Senate 50-0 and the House 93-7. Bullock signed it on Friday and it took effect immediately.

The measure allows terminally ill patients who have exhausted all federally-approved treatments to seek experimental drugs, biological products or devices that have successfully completed Phase 1 of a clinical trial, but have not yet been approved for general use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

So-called Right To Try laws are already in place in 12 other states, including Arizona, Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. The Goldwater Institute, which is leading a national effort to get similar bills passed, says North Dakota’s legislature has passed its bill and 20 other states are considering it.