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# House Fails to Pass Right-to-Try Bill
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/house-fails-to-pass-right-to-try-bill/
- Published: 2018-03-14T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T23:53:05.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5140987

The House of Representatives has failed to pass HR 5247, the Right to Try Act of 2018, under suspension of the rules. The bill ([see earlier story](https://www.fdaweb.com/revised-right-to-try-bill-introduced-in-house/)) was crafted to improve access to experimental treatments for patients with terminal diseases or conditions. The vote was 259 to 140 in favor of the measure, but it did not meet the two-thirds threshold necessary to pass.

After the vote, advocacy group Public Citizen said: “We applaud the House members who voted against the seriously flawed false hope legislation, which would have created a dangerous, uncharted pathway for accessing experimental medications that have not been shown to be safe or effective. The bill would have exposed vulnerable patients to risks of serious harm, including dying earlier and more painfully than they otherwise would have, without appropriate safeguards.”

House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member **Frank Pallone**, Jr. (D-NJ) said that by voting down the bill, “we protected patients and supported FDA’s continued role in approving experimental treatments that may help save a patient’s life.” He said the bill should have never been on the House floor since it was only introduced recently and it was never been reviewed or discussed by his Committee.