Weighing in on a controversial topic

We are less than one week away from Signals’ second blog carnival! Last month I promised to reveal the topic and the participants. I also hinted that this year’s topic might strike some readers as controversial. Given that a few invited bloggers declined to participate, I’d have to say that’s the case. So although our numbers are a little smaller this year – busy schedules and vacations having also gotten in the way – the contributing bloggers all have compelling things to say on the topic. I hope you’ll tune in on August 29 when the blog carnival goes live.

This year’s topic is Right to Try. This American legislation follows a policy report published by the Goldwater Institute in 2014. The legislation has since been enacted on a state-by-state basis and currently 37 states have it on their books.

Right to Try gives terminally ill patients access to drugs, biologics and devices that have completed Phase 1 clinical trials for safety, but have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. As you can imagine, there are strong opinions for and against this legislation. Our bloggers also feel passionately about the issue.

Next week’s blog carnival participants include a patient, several academics, and others, and are as follows:

• Patrick Bedford for Signals
• Stacey Johnson for Signals
• David Kent for Signals
• Paul Knoepfler for The Niche
• Barry O’Sullivan for Research2Reality
• Samantha Payne for the Stem Cell Network
• Brian Sladek for Signals or another site (TBD)

Our friends at CIRM, California’s Stem Cell Agency, were also invited to blog, but rather than declining for the reasons already mentioned above, they declined because they’ve already covered this topic. To whet your appetite, hear from a patient advocacy group against Right to Try here, an attorney and health policy advisor who is also against the legislation, and coverage of a panel at the World Stem Cell Summit in 2015.

Visit Signals next week to learn whether the bloggers above are more pro or con, and why. Then let us know in the comments where you stand on the issue.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Stacey Johnson

Stacey Johnson is the editor of Signals and a contributor. For 25 years, Stacey has been providing strategic communications counsel to government, corporate, technology and health organizations. She began her career at the CTV Television Network and then moved to Hill & Knowlton Canada where she advised clients in a variety of industries and sectors. Stacey is the Vice President, Communications and Marketing for CCRM, a leader in developing and commercializing regenerative medicine-based technologies and cell and gene therapies. She has a Master's degree in Public Relations. You can follow her on Twitter @msstaceyerin.

Latest posts by Stacey Johnson (see all)

• Right Turn: #pinksocks, diabetes news and other ramblings - June 24, 2025
• Right Turn: Some takeaways from Advanced Therapies Week 2025 - January 31, 2025
• Right Turn: The top 10 most-read blog posts in 2024 - January 2, 2025