Week in Review: “This is just the beginning.”

April 27, 2019

When he was diagnosed with a rare lymphatic and endocrine cancer, Marc Hayutin was given months to live. Today, he has lived six years beyond his doctors’ predictions.

That’s because Hayutin was able to access a drug yet to be approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). He was undergoing treatment when the FDA put a stop to the study he was participating in because they decided they didn’t need any more patient data. Marc was desperate and out of options. But thanks to Right to Try, he has been allowed to complete his treatment. Marc credits Right to Try for saving his life.

Now, nearly one year after Right to Try was signed into federal law, ReasonTV has released a new video looking at the real patients who have advocated for the right to access investigational drugs—and whose lives have changed thanks to having that right restored and protected. Goldwater Executive Vice President Christina Sandefur says that the adoption of Right to Try on the federal level signifies “a real culture change in Washington, D.C. It’s one of the first times in recent history where Congress has told the FDA, ‘you’re overstepping your boundaries.’ And I think that that’s not the end of the story—this is just the beginning.”

Watch the video to learn the incredible story of how — in the face of the FDA’s overcaution concerning drug approvals — one reform that has seen widespread support is giving terminally ill patients access to investigational treatments that could save their lives. Click here for more.

The Best Government Leaves Its Citizens to Their Own Devices

“In a time in which politics are as divisive as ever, with Republicans and Democrats incapable of agreeing on even the most innocuous of bills, it is nearly impossible for truly revolutionary ideas to cut through the bickering and backbiting,” Goldwater Institute President and CEO Victor Riches wrote in a recent In Defense of Liberty post.

Right to Try, designed by the Institute, is “the single greatest exception to this trend,” yet it became the center of a USA Today and Arizona Republic hitpiece on model legislation. Riches recently joined The Jeff Oravits Show to talk about his recent response to this piece on In Defense of Liberty.

“The best government is a government that leaves its citizens to their own devices,” Riches said. That’s not just true when it comes to Right to Try: It also applies to the Goldwater Institute’s work defending the right to earn a living. Riches talked about two important occupational licensing reforms in Arizona, which have helped make the state one of the friendliest for worker freedom in the country. 

Read more and listen to his interview here.

You Might Be A Criminal, and You Don’t Even Know It

There’s a disturbing and growing trend at every level of government: the movement not just to outlaw, but criminalize innocuous (and often beneficial) activities simply because they involve exchange of money.

Here’s one of the more egregious examples of government criminalizing conduct: Cities nationwide have recently begun to outlaw home-sharing – renting one’s home to overnight guests in exchange for money. Although technology – through platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway – has made it easier than ever before for homeowners and visitors to connect, home-sharing is actually a centuries-old practice, and cities have traditionally used existing nuisance laws to address any problems caused by the occasional raucous guest.

Yet today, cities are imposing crushing penalties on innocent conduct. Read more and watch a video of a special Federalist Society symposium on “The Resurgence of Economic Liberty” with Goldwater Executive Vice President Christina Sandefur.