Chattanooga Times Free Press: New law gives Tennesseans more medical options
Unfortunately, and too often, government regulations or other external factors hinder a patient-centered focus on care, including the right to try to save one's own life. That's why, as a proud alumnus of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, I was gratified that the partnership between state Sen. Bo Watson and Beacon Impact was successful in enacting the Right to Try for Individualized Treatments (Right to Try 2.0), a law that protects this fundamental right.
As Sen. Watson points out, for a patient with a rare, debilitating or life-threatening disease, there is no greater fundamental right than being permitted to try to save one's own life. As a physician, this is precisely where I believe the focus should always be -- on the patient and providing more options for treatment.