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Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Politics

The cruel sham that is “right-to-try” is one big step closer to being federal law

So-called “right-to-try” is a cruel sham that holds out the mostly false hope of survival to terminally ill patients and their families. In return, all they have to give up is patient protections and agree to pay to be guinea pigs to test a drug company’s product. The product of an ideology that uses the terminally ill as shields to hide the ideological motives behind the law, which are to hobble the FDA, right-to-try is a terrible idea. It’s bad for patients, but it just passed the Senate and could well become the law of the land when the House reconvenes in September if it isn’t stopped.

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics

Sen. Ron Johnson threatens to obstruct passage of the bill funding the FDA if “right-to-try” language isn’t added

“Right-to-try” laws claim to help terminally patients by allowing them access to experimental drugs before they are approved, when, in fact, their purpose is to undermine and weaken the FDA and such laws strip legal and regulatory protections from patients using such drugs. Now advocates are making a new push to pass right-to-try by embedding it in the very law that funds the FDA. They might succeed if they encounter no opposition from constituents.

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Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

The New York Times publishes fake news false hope in the form of a credulous account of dubious alternative medicine testimonials

It’s been a bad week for the Gray Lady in the science department. Hot off the heels of hiring a climate science denier for its op-ed section, it’s published a credulous article that uncritically touts a book full of dubious alternative medicine testimonials.

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Antivaccine nonsense Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

What makes a physician become an antivaxer? (Part 2)

Orac contemplates a reason why doctors become antivaccine that he missed the last time he discussed this topic.

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Popular culture Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Cancer charlatan Belle Gibson: Con artist or delusional?

Cancer huckster Belle Gibson was recently fined for deceiving the public by claiming that she had brain cancer, a story that she used to sell all manner of dubious treatments. Was she delusional or a run-of-the-mill con artist? Does it matter?