PHOENIX — Voters overwhelmingly approved a measure that allows terminally ill patients to receive experimental drugs, making Arizona the fifth state to enact such a law. In a separate vote, the state rejected what would have been the first pay raise for lawmakers since 1998.
Similar “Right to Try” measures have gained popularity in other states, driven by the conservative Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute. It has drawn comparisons to the movie “Dallas Buyers Club” about an AIDS patient who smuggled treatments from Mexico because they weren’t cleared for use in the U.S.
The proposal would let terminally ill patients get access to medicines that haven’t gone through the full federal drug approval process but have cleared the first phase of clinical trials.
Proponents say the proposal is needed to give options to terminal patients who must now wait months to get government clearance on such medication. Opponents say the drugs are already fairly easy to get and that changing the rules could expose patients to the dangers of medicines that haven’t been tested thoroughly.
The drugs would still have to be prescribed by a doctor, and the risk from the drug would have to be no greater than the risk from the disease. Similar laws have been approved in Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri and Michigan.
Critics call Proposition 303 a feel-good campaign that could actually hurt more patients than it helps.
Voters were also asked to weigh in on whether Arizona lawmakers should get a pay raise, from $24,000 a year to $35,000.
The Arizona Legislature has been a polarizing body in recent years, taking up controversial measures on immigration, gay rights and guns. The Arizona Legislature is a part-time position.
A third statewide measure was too close to call. The proposal allows the state to push back against the federal government for any actions the state considers unconstitutional.
Proposition 122 arose from growing angst in Republican states over what conservatives view as heavy-handed tactics by the Obama administration. Opponents call it a waste of time and money to decide questions the courts are designed to handle.
The measure would allow the state to withhold money and staffing in carrying out any federal program or effort that voters or lawmakers deem unconstitutional.
