By Don C. Reed
Imagine if you had an incurable disease. The doctors gave you no hope, saying there was little to be done, and you should expect a foreshortened life.
But then came some good luck: you were selected for a clinical trial, testing a new therapy. This would benefit you directly, easing your condition. You were actually getting better…
But then, to your shock and dismay, the funding which had paid for the research was cut off. The trials were canceled. The pain returned; your hopes were crushed.
What political party might be so cruel, to cut off the funding and return you to the sickness?
Republicans, without question; they have done it before, chopping 40% off the NIH (National Institutes of Health) budget in one whack. They were later forced (by a Federal court order) to restore some of the money, but putting back the cash was not their idea.
Today, America is just weeks away from the midterm elections. How will you vote? To me, there is no question. Democrats enthusiastically support health insurance and medical research: Republicans, not so much.
As supporters of medical research, how could we not back the Democrats?
But what about the financial side? “…every dollar that NIH gave out to a grant in 2024 is estimated to have returned $2.46 just in a year.” –Dr. Francis Collins, CBS News, April, former head of the NIH, April 2024.
Trials may also directly benefit the participants.
Example: drawn from a publication of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Written by AAMC Senior Writer Patrick Boyle, it concerns a young woman named Katie Dobie who was losing her sight from a disease called uvlear melanoma, a cancer of the eye. Her condition worsened; the cancer spread from eyes to liver to brain. But she did not go blind; today she sees again. (1) Being in the trials restored her vision.
As noted, mid-term elections are upon us. These are crucial; we dare not sit idly by. To do nothing would be like ignoring the approach of a forest fire.
Assuming you agree that medical research is vital, and that Democrats are the stronger candidates when it comes to health and medical research, what can you do to be a positive part of the process?
Think of your friends; are they registered to vote? Ask them!
Also, you may know people who are disabled, and might find it difficult to get to the polls to vote. Could you give them a lift?
Consider volunteering a couple hours of your time. Remember, the other side has mountains of money; we have only the strength of our commitment. Yet that may be enough. There is a saturation point, beyond which people may get sick of the advertising overkill, and just toss the stacks of political trash.
Be sure you personally are registered, and then follow through with your vote: by mail if you like, or at the polls on election day.
As champion athlete and civil rights activist Bill Russell once said:
“Think…and participate.”
And tell a friend!!
(1) https://academicmedicine.aamc.org/stori/es/whats-stake-when-clinical-trials-research-gets-cut