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Imagine for a moment you are terminally ill and along comes news of a new development that may save or at least drastically improve your life.
Sounds great, right?
But you would have been out of luck unless you were able to take part in a clinical trial because the treatment hadn't yet won federal approval.
That's why we applaud the state legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf for passing and signing the so-called "right to try" law.
The law gives terminally ill patients in Pennsylvania the right to try experimental treatments, even if they have yet to be federally approved.
It allows a manufacturer of an investigational drug, biological product or medical device to provide it to a patient who has a recommendation from a treating physician and has been unable to participate in a clinical trial.
The law doesn't require a manufacturer to provide the treatment to a patient, or grant legal immunity to the manufacturer. It also doesn't require an insurer to cover the treatment or require a manufacturer to provide it for free.
This seems like an easy, common-sense decision, which is why it's almost surprising that it went anywhere in dysfunctional Harrisburg.
Patients who are facing life-threatening illness don't have the luxury of waiting until a bureaucracy moving at a glacial pace decides to get around to approving a treatment.
This law clears the way for decisions regarding medical care to be made by those who should be making them -- patients and doctors.
Illness isn't liberal. Illness isn't conservative. Illness didn't vote for or against anyone currently holding office. It's a problem that affects all types of people.
We know those whose lives will be saved by this law will appreciate the people who made their treatment possible, not what letter appears on their voter registration.