Federal “right-to-try” legislation was passed and signed into law by President Trump over a year ago. Advocates promised that lots of terminally ill people who were dying then would be saved by having the right to “try” experimental therapies outside of the context of clinical trials. That has not happened. This should come as no surprise, because right-to-try was never about getting experimental drugs to dying patients. It was always about weakening the FDA and making money.
In 2012, a 19 month old boy named Ezekiel Stephan died of bacterial meningitis because his parents believe in quackery over medicine. They were convicted, but a new trial ordered by the Supreme Court has now acquitted them in a truly horrific ruling.
Tad Sztykowski is an acupuncturist who lost his acupuncture license for misrepresenting himself as a physician. His case is a good illustration of why licensing quack specialties like acupuncture is bad policy.
After the passage of SB 276 and SB 714, antivaxers are very unhappy. They show this by likening vaccine mandates to 9/11 and claiming they know the “real reason” for them, big pharma and government “punishing” them and taking away their rights.
While trying to block SB 276 from becoming law yesterday, antivaxers proclaimed themselves the “new civil rights movement.” They aren’t. Quite the opposite, in fact. Fortunately, SB 276 is now law, their attempts at civil disobedience notwithstanding.
