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From A Constitutional Right To A Policy Of Exceptions: Abigail Alliance And The Future Of Access To Experimental Therapy, Seema Shah, Patricia Zettler

Patricia J. Zettler

In 1999, nineteen-year-old Abigail Burroughs was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Abigail underwent the conventional treatments-chemotherapy and radiation therapy-with no success. Her physician recommended that Abigail attempt to enroll in clinical trials for two unapproved drugs that her physician hoped might have an effect on her tumor. Abigail, however, was unable to enroll in the trials because she did not meet the scientific criteria for inclusion. In June 2001, shortly after enrolling in a clinical trial of a third unapproved drug, Abigail passed away. Following her death, her father founded the Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs …