Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 8, Episode 3 - Give Me Your Weak - full transcript

You're not just turning your
back on a piece of legislation.

It's people.

The congress still hasn't
passed an orphan drug act.

And the last thing I'm going
to allow is to have government

pile up another set of choking
regulations on private industry.

What about the cost of forcing
people back onto disability?

I don't want to go
back to a hospital bed.

How can I take care of
my baby at a hospital?

You have to give
us time, Dr. Steiner.

Time is exactly what my
patients are running out of.

There are people out there.
They are depending on you



to help them stop suffering.

So the time for talk is over.

Gentlemen, you
are about to enter

the most fascinating
sphere of police work,

the world of forensic medicine.

They said you weren't going to be on
my route anymore after today, David.

Said you were going to
Woodbridge Convalescent Hospital.

It's not a hospital.
It's a warehouse.

Now, David,

I understand that they
do the best they can,

what with the shortage 'n all.

I'm sorry.

You know what gets me is?

Without that medicine,
there's not much that



anyone can do about
your myoclonus...

I just can't understand why
they stopped giving it to you.

You didn't touch your food.

I'm not hungry.

Well, I'll just leave it here. Maybe
you'll pick on it a little later, huh?

Is there something
else I can help you with?

Yep, there's a box
underneath my bed.

Something special in here?

All the help I need.

I'll be back later
to pick up the tray.

Coroner's Case Number 827553.

Body is that of David
Bowman, male Caucasian.

Age twenty-one.

Height one hundred and
seventy-two centimeters.

Weight fifty-four kilograms.

Appears to be muscular atrophy
on the right side of the body.

The police report
said he was disabled.

The last person to see him
alive was a woman from a

volunteer group who brings meals
to people who are homebound.

No sign of a break in, but a
few things were knocked over.

Monahan already smells a murder?

You can't blame him, Quince.

I've never seen a suicide where the
gun was aimed at the back of the head.

From the entry and exit wounds,
I'd say the gun was angled at about

forty degrees.

You know, with that severe
an angle, the guy would've

practically had to have been a
contortionist to fire the fatal bullet.

But if it wasn't suicide,

then it means someone executed
a disabled person in cold blood.

That's pretty scary.

Put a rush on those
gunshot residues, will you?

Right.

- Dr. Quincy?
- Yeah.

I've got the residues you wanted
analyzed on the Bowman case.

Thank you, Phil.

Find anything?

His right hand and forearm were
peppered with powder residue.

Completely consistent with
firing the weapon the police found.

Gosh, if he did shoot himself,

with the entry angle we found, he
must've been an Indian Rubber Man.

That's not the only puzzle.

Take a look at the brain
sections histopathology sent back.

These brain cells
are degenerated.

Yeah, there are
inclusion bodies in them

and some secondary changes.

Too many fibers, too many cells.

Could the brain damage
have caused his disease?

That pathology isn't
specific to one disease.

It could cause any of
several neurological disorders.

- Quincy?
- Yeah

Some old friends are
waiting in your office.

- Old friends, who?
- Doctor Ciotti
and his son, Tony.

You're kidding! Ya know I
was just thinking about them?

Did they say what they wanted?

Well, they'll tell ya.

Oh, Tony, how good to
see you! Oh sit, sit, sit.

- Doctor Ciotti, how are you?
- Good, good.

How wonderful. Sit, sit.

Good to see you, you
look just wonderful.

- How's school, Tony?
- It's all right.

Oh, listen to
him, it's 'all right.'

H's only number one
in his class in one of the

toughest music
conservatories in the country.

I knew there'd be
no stopping you.

How long has it been, two years
since the orphan drug hearings?

- Two frustrating years.
- In what way?

Well, the Congress still hasn't
passed an Orphan Drug Act.

People like Tony with rare diseases
still can't get the pharmaceutical

companies to
research their illnesses

The pharmaceutical companies
still claim it's unprofitable,

and the government still
won't do enough to help.

But we were so close
to getting a law passed!

I thought it went through.

But the FDA was supposed to give
the pharmaceutical companies a break.

They wouldn't have to do so
much testing on the orphan drugs.

The government was going
to give them a tax write-off.

And the pharmaceutical
companies, in return,

were going to finally put some
research money into trying to find

cures for rare diseases.
That's the way it was!

They talked a good game,

but as soon as the
publicity died down after the

hearings, it was back
to business as usual.

And nothing was accomplished?

We were close, but we
never got to the finish line.

The proof of that is

what happened to David...

David Bowman.

Tony met him through a
rap group for the disabled.

He was as good a
friend as you'd want.

We bummed around
together until they

knocked the crutches
out from under him.

David had myoclonus.

I saw the brain damage.

Wasn't myoclonus the disease
that this young woman had,

the one that testified
with you before Congress?

Oh, Kitty Marinoff,
that's right.

As a matter of fact, she and David were
undergoing experimental drug therapy

with a friend and colleague
of mine, Doctor Styer.

Yeah, and that was a good
drug, I remember reading

about it in the
journal, L5 something.

L-5HTP. It suppresses the
involuntary movements, those violent

body jerks, far better
than any other drug.

Many myoclonus patients
including David showed

showed dramatic improvement.

Yeah, he could get
around on his own steam

for the first time since
he was what, fifteen?

He got a job,
started seeing a girl.

He wrote some incredible poetry.

He was feeling really
good about himself.

What happened?

The old story. The axe fell.

You see, the only money
Doctor Styer had to work with

was a grant from the
National Institute for Health.

But that only
covered raw materials,

substances labeled
'for animal use only.'

Doctor Styer still had to encapsulate
his own pills. And even at that,

one day he got the word that
they were not renewing his grant.

What about the people that were
relying on the drug, like David and Kitty?

- What about them?
- They got taken off it.

Doctor Styer had no choice.

There was no money
to go on making it.

After a few weeks off the L-5

he got too weak for
crutches. And, uh...

Not too long ago the
doctors told him he

couldn't live at home anymore.

They said he'd have to
go to a chronic care center.

That's why he killed himself.

Tony, why are you so
sure he killed himself?

He said he would.

If he ever regressed to the point where
he couldn't do anything to help himself.

- Was it suicide?
- Tell me.

If David intended to
shoot himself, like this,

could a myoclonic jerk
have pulled his arm back?

It's quite likely.

Then it probably was suicide.

It was a statement

It was a statement
to the whole world.

David was trying
to tell us something.

That's right, Doctor Quincy.

And this time...

We want to be sure that
it's heard loud and clear.

Which brings me to

why we've come to see you.

There is a new version
of the Orphan Drug Act

pending in Congress
at this very moment.

This time it's do or die.

Doctor Quincy,

I'd wish you'd
meet Doctor Styer.

And, if you would,
I'd like you to join us.

How severe have the attacks
been, Kitty, these days?

Well, that depends. I
mean, you know myoclonus.

If a car doesn't backfire, if the
phone doesn't ring unexpectedly,

if the baby's not
having a fit, then

sometimes I can make
it through a whole day.

I don't want to go back to
a hospital bed, Dr. Styer.

How can I take care of
my baby in a hospital?

Nobody said anything
about a hospital.

Nobody had to.

I'm slipping, Doctor Styer.

I'm getting weaker every day,
and the attacks are getting worse.

At least with the L-5 I
could get out in the world.

I almost dropped my
baby the other day.

I feel so helpless.

Like David must've felt
when he pulled that trigger.

You remember the nights we used to
spend here, putting the L-5 into capsules?

At least we could
get it back then.

Look, we can't give up
hope, Kitty. We just can't.

Excuse me...

Yes?

Tell him I'll be with them
in just a moment, please.

Alright Kitty, I want to
see you again next week.

Well, I better hang
around a little longer, then.

I don't want to mess
up your appointments.

Hi Jenny, my wife come out yet?

No, she's still in
with Doctor Styer.

Brian?

- Dr. Ciotti, remember me?
- Oh, hello Doctor.

-Uh, Dr. Quincy, Brian
Marinoff -How do you do?

Oh, we've met at one of
those, uh, hearings, Doctor.

And this person here
must be little Laura.

She's not so little anymore,
Doctor. Eleven months just yesterday.

Sure is pretty.

- Oh, here's mommy! Hi, honey.
- Hi.

- Doctor Ciotti,
and Doctor Quincy...
- How are you, Kitty?

- Good to see you.
- What a surprise.

We were just talking
about your baby.

Oh, isn't she something? She can
already beat her mom at the ten yard dash.

You look pretty good
on those crutches.

Thanks, looks can
be deceiving, though.

What I'm really good
at these days is pratfalls.

Oh, honey, we better
get going. Daycare.

- Nice to see you both. Bye.
- Bye.

Doctor Styer, I'd like you
to meet Doctor Quincy.

A pleasure, Doctor. Why
don't we go into my office?

I'm sure everyone
has experienced a

sudden jerking of the
body at one time or another.

You know how you catch yourself
when you might be dropping off to sleep

and you don't want to and
your body goes like that?

Well, with myoclonus patients, those kinds
of starts can happen at almost any time.

And with far greater
severity, I might add.

I understand there are
several forms of this disorder.

That right. David had
the most severe form.

It's called progressive myoclonus
epilepsy. It's genetic in origin.

Now, he didn't have
many more years to live.

But they should've been
full, productive years.

You should read the poems he left
behind. They'd tear your heart right out.

But after the L-5
was taken away,

the poetry turned dark,
depressed, obsessed with death.

Kitty's myoclonus, is
that genetic as well?

No. Kitty has what we call
post-anoxic intention myoclonus.

Up 'til six years ago, her only
medical problem was asthma.

Then she had a severe
allergic reaction to an exotic food,

and as a result her
brain was deprived of

oxygen just long enough
to cause the myoclonus.

That's another reason why we've
got to get this Orphan Drug Bill passed.

So people like Kitty
can have hope again.

And you can't get the L-5 manufactured
unless the Orphan Drug Act passes?

Well, there is one other chance.

Now, after the hearings two years
ago, when Kitty and Tony testified,

the drug manufacturers were
in for some pretty bad press,

so the Drug Industry Council, that's the
alliance of pharmaceutical manufacturers,

formed an overnight committee,
the Panel on Orphan Drugs.

And now it looks like they want to
make L-5 the first feather in their cap.

So they're trying to convince one of their
member companies to manufacture the drug

voluntarily, without coercion
from the government.

If we're lucky, they'll think of this as
a cheap way to clean up their image.

What are the chances?

Well I tell you, Kyle Jastrow,
the chairman of the committee,

is a decent,
well-meaning person.

Maybe he can shame them into it.

And again, a patient with
myoclonus before the L-5HTP

And after taking the L-5

I wanted you to see
this in closed session.

Also, I didn't want to
embarrass anyone before our

public meeting this afternoon.

We're among friends here, so
I'm not going to mince any words.

Fellas,

we really blew it.

Not one drug company offered to lift
a finger to help put L-5 into production.

We've offered the people
who need that drug no hope.

None.

I've got to call Doctor
Styer and tell him

tough luck.

You know something?

The next time someone accuses this panel
of being as phony as a three dollar bill,

I just might agree with 'em.

C'mon, Kyle. Get
off that high horse.

You know what our limits are.

We get the information,
send it to our members,

and make our
recommendations. That's it.

That's as far as it goes.

- Well,
that just not far enough.
- What do you suggest we do?

Hold a gun to the head
of some manufacturer?

And even if we did, how
would you decide which one?

Each of us represents
a major drug company.

Who says we can't
stop the buck here?

This industry making
money hand over fist.

It about time we
gave something back.

Hey, wait a minute, Kyle.

When I brought it up at
a recent board meeting,

I damn near had
my head taken off.

Not that they didn't
see the PR value.

It's just they didn't think it
was worth millions of dollars.

But for a hundred
thousand dollars, maybe two,

a company could start
manufacturing the drug.

Yeah? What about the FDA?

By the time they make us jump
through every one of their hoops,

their clinical trials,
their toxicity tests,

the New Drug Application,

you can just bet it's going
to end up costing millions.

What about your company, Samuel?

You've shown record
profit three years running.

Because we were
smart, not stupid.

You want me to suggest to
management that they dig a bottomless

pit and start pouring
money down it? No thanks.

What about you, Ray?

Your company already has
some expertise in the area.

No, no, there is no way
you can break even on L-5.

Kyle, come on.

Where's your market? You've got

two thousand potential
buyers, that's tops!

But if someone even mentions
the Orphan Drug Act, which would

reimburse us for most of our investment,
we start to hem and haw and blow smoke.

Listen, the FDA is killin' us
already with their regulations.

Killin' us.

You know something?

Myoclonus isn't the only
disease we're ignoring.

There's another one,
right under our noses.

What disease is that?

Apathy.

Hey, what's going on in here?

You're not supposed to be making
breakfast around here, ya know.

I thought you needed
it after last night.

How many times
did she get you up?

Oh, I don't know, I lost count.

How you feeling?

Fine. Just a little shaky.

You getting hungry? Daddy
thinks you're getting hungry, huh?

You know we're down
to our last jar here.

And I wasn't even going to
any shopping 'til tomorrow.

I could always
mash something up.

That's all right. I'll pick
some up on the way home,

I have to stop to pick up
your prescription anyway.

Don't forget, today's Tuesday.

Oh God, I'm glad you
reminded me, I totally forgot.

What time do I have to
be at the pediatrician?

Noon.

I'm sorry I don't feel strong
enough to go with you.

It's all right.

So what do you think? Today
we're going to have a little

strained fruit. You don't
like, huh? You don't like?

Look at this, the next
thing she'll want is a menu.

You know, I do hope I don't have
to wait too long at the doctor's office.

The boss is reshuttling
the entire department.

If I'm not back there by two o'clock,
I might as well not show up at all.

Oh Brian...

This is so unfair.

You're getting shuffled every which way,
between me and the baby, and the job...

I can't even do
my share anymore.

We've been all
through this before.

We both knew it
wasn't going to be easy.

Hey, when we
agreed to have a baby,

at least I was getting the L-5.

I mean, at least
I could function.

I was holding down a job,

contributing...

- What are ya talking about,
you do contribute!
- What?

I can't even pick up my own
child without thinking twice.

And it's not going
to get any better.

So I may as well admit it!

Kitty, you're just gonna get
yourself upset talking like that.

Okay, it's all right, it's
ok, don't worry about it.

- I've ruined your breakfast.
- I didn't want any
breakfast anyway, come on.

I'll just clean it
up. It's no problem.

I can't even cook my
own husband breakfast.

Everything's going
to be all right, huh?

Why don't you go and lie
down for a little bit, huh?

Lie down? Don't you know that
pretty soon, that's all I'll be able to do?

Why're you rushing me?

You know, if I didn't
know better I'd say

somebody here's starting
to feel feeling for themselves.

And hating myself for it.

It's gonna be okay.

We therefore feel that this bill would be
in the best interest of the entire nation.

Copy of S-2130 is attached for
your reference. Warmest regards,

and it's signed
by all six senators.

They really rolled out the big
guns on this one, didn't they?

Mmm. It going to be a
little difficult to ignore it.

For you, maybe, but not for me.

I didn't get elected to five
consecutive terms by running

scared every time somebody
turned the heat up a little bit.

I think there's more than just the
question of running scared. I don't

think you should underestimate
the potential ground swell if you

singlehandedly defeat this bill.

It's emotionally
loaded. Pure TNT.

Hugh, listen to me.

You've been around some.

But I've been down this
road a hundred times.

A thousand times. It's
always the same story.

First there's a lot
of sound and fury.

Big public reaction.
All kinds of press.

You hang tough, though, stick by
your principles, and before you know it,

everyone's up in arms
about something else.

The public attention
span just only so long.

I suppose you're right.

You know I'm right, Hugh.

The drug companies
don't want this law.

The FDA don't want it.

Health and Human Services
don't want it. They have their own

internal mechanisms
for solving a problem.

And the last thing I'm going
to allow is to have government

pile up another choking set of
regulations on private industry.

You know how the
President feels about that.

I'll guess I'll get started
with your response.

Yes, respond!

Wha... What's the matter here?

Your asthma acting up?

And I'm out of my inhaler.

Well no problem, I'll just run down
to the corner and get you some more.

No, no, you know
it'll pass. It's okay.

Hey, come on...

Don't be silly. It'll
take me ten minutes.

What if the baby acts up, Brian?

The baby's fine, I've put a
bottle right next to the crib.

God, I love you so much.

I love you too.

- All right?
- Yeah.

I'll be right back.

Everything is going to be okay.

Oh, God... Honey...

I'm sorry...

Come here, baby.

It's okay. Come on,
Daddy's going to be here.

Laura, please...

Laura, stop crying!

Please!

Oh sweetie...

I know, I know, I know...

Oh God, help me!

I was just going upstairs.

- Doctor Quincy...
- How are they?

Well, the baby had
a slight concussion.

Kitty got a few bruises
and a torn ligament.

Believe me, it could've
been a lot worse.

What makes this so hard
to take is knowing that

this never would have happened

if Kitty was still
undergoing the L-5 therapy.

Just to cheer everybody
up, I'm afraid I've got some

more bad news. I couldn't tell
you this while we were with Kitty.

But if you held out any
hopes for the Orphan Drug Act,

you can kiss 'em goodbye.

I spoke to Congressman
Erickson this morning.

Senator Reeves sent a polite but

flat 'no.'

What else could we expect?

That's the way it ends...

Not with a bang but a whimper.

Listen to you two. You've been

fighting this battle for years,
you're going to give up just like that?

Do you have any suggestions?

Yeah! You march into
Senator Reeves office

you tell him he's wrong and that it's
as much our government as it's his.

How many other orphan diseases
have representatives you can contact?

Volunteers? Dozens
if you add 'em up...

Well maybe it's time
we did add 'em up.

Y'know what,

it's not a half bad idea. We could mobilize
a small army to march on Washington.

We could send out telegrams.
Tell them it's now or never.

Now you're talkin'. Put as
many people as you can on hold.

Tell 'em we won't use 'em
unless it's absolutely necessary.

You're right,
dammit. It's time we

showed these politicians
what this bill really means.

Doctor Quincy,

will you be there with us?

Are you kidding?

I wouldn't miss
it for the world.

There's nothing I can say to convince
you that you're wasting your time?

- Nope.
- Quince?

Here's the photos on
the Frankovitch case.

- Give 'em to
Doctor Asten, would ya?
- Doctor.

Now Quincy, if I thought
your going to Washington

would going to move
those legislators one iota,

I'd would send you
off with my blessing.

I mean, I would go along myself.

You're welcome to join us.

No way, you're trying to
change a politician's mind?

I've got enough frustrations
right here, thank you very much.

I'm just telling you how
Washington works, Quincy.

You're going to be one more
small voice swallowed up in the roar.

Listen.

If you listen to me and
you don't go and you don't

try and you don't give 'em
hell, I'd never respect you again.

Now, get outta here,
don't miss that plane.

- Oh, Quincy!
- I don't know.

Where's he off to?

Washington, D.C.

- What about
the Frankovitch case?
- Putting Sam right on it.

But the case... It's not done!

He sure is shirkin'
his responsibilities.

Not at all.

Just giving 'em
the proper priority.

Gentlemen, if you're looking for
the enemy, you won't find him here.

You're among allies.

I don't think there's
a soul in the whole

Food and Drug Administration
who's not sympathetic to

your views on orphan products.

With all due respect, Ms.
Beck, I learned the hard way

there's a big difference
between sympathy and support.

Two years ago, I sat in this

very office, right in this chair,
with one of your predecessors

I was virtually promised
that full toxicological

studies of L-5HTP were
gonna begin immediately.

It turned out to be
an empty promise.

The first of many.

I can't speak for my
predecessors, but

I think you'll find a
lot has changed here,

especially in the last year.

We've got a brand new
committee that handles the orphan

drug problem right
here in the Agency.

And it cooperates
with a special task

force that Health and
Human Services just set up.

There're eight new
initiatives on the orphan

drug development
from this office alone.

Six of those initiatives were supposed
to have been implemented months,

even years ago.

And nothing came of
them. Nothing materialized.

Let's face it, Ms. Beck, you've
produced everything but results.

You have to give
us time, Doctor Styer.

Time is exactly what my
patients are running out of.

Your committee has no
funding, no enforcement powers,

no consumer representation.
It's all just window dressing.

I think what Doctor Styer
is trying to say is that

all the good intentions
in the world couldn't

do what one clearly
worded law would do.

Look, as long as I'm in this
agency, I'm going to fight like hell to

to see to it that any company that takes
on the development of an orphan drug

gets one hundred percent
cooperation from this agency.

Now you've got
to trust me on this.

We're gonna make it as easy as possible
on them when it comes to the testing.

As long as you're in the Agency.

But what happens when the
next round of appointees move in?

What happens when the next person in this
office thinks it's all a waste of time?

The important thing is
that the FDA wants to

see the orphan drugs
produced just as much as you do.

If that's true, Ms. Beck...

Why aren't you backing
the bill in Congress?

Well, by supporting the bill, we'd have
to support the tax incentive part as well.

And that puts us in direct conflict with
the Office of Management and the Budget.

So after all is said and done,
the bottom line is politics.

You call it politics,
we call it policy.

Come on, Quincy, we
better go. You've got

an appointment at the
Drug Industry Council.

Thank you.

Let me try to put it
in a nutshell for you.

The drug companies
we represent feel the real

villain is government
regulation.

If the FDA would
just bend with us,

we could make all
beneficial drugs easier to get.

We don't see the need to make a
special class out of orphan drugs.

But they are a special class.

The people who need orphan
drugs should be treated differently.

They're different because
there no profit in helping them.

Believe me, Doctor Quincy.
Our panel on orphan drugs is

doing everything it can
to improve the situation.

But it wasn't even enough
to get Doctor Styer a

sponsor for his L-5. And
that's a drug that exists!

It doesn't have to be discovered.
It just has to be manufactured!

And dragged over the
FDA's obstacle course.

Which would take more time and
money than you can shake a stick at.

Even so, L-5 continues to
be our number one priority.

We haven't given up on it yet.

But we need even more.

We need you to back
the Orphan Drug Bill.

Let's just say that

cost-wise, it leaves
a lot to be desired.

Pardon me if I look surprised.

But if this bill goes
through as it is,

the government will give you back
ninety cents for every dollar you

spend on orphan drug research.

Ninety cents! How
much more do you want?

Well, that provision may
be taken out of the Bill.

But it's also the hidden
costs we worry about.

Like the business of
postmarketing surveillance.

Keeping records on
drugs when they're in use.

It's so

vague and potentially
costly that our legal counsel

has said that he will advise every member
company to steer clear of orphan drugs

if the bill passes
with the section intact.

So because of your lawyer's
skittishness about this one provision,

you're willing to stand on the
sidelines and watch this bill die?

Even if the bill
should fail, I think it is

- important that a real
dialogue has begun...
- Oh come on, will ya?

Holy mackerel, I mean, there're
just so many words right now!

I don't think you or
the companies you

represent fully understand
what is going on.

See, there are people out there

Millions, if you add them
up, who need your expertise.

People you will never meet.

But people with disabilities,

with diseases you only read
about in obscure medical journals.

They are suffering.
And they are dying.

And they are beginning to wonder
if you are doing everything you can.

They are depending on you
to help them stop suffering.

So the time for talk is over

and the time
for civility is over

and the time for
patience is over!

To put it in a nutshell,

it's time you got
off your butts.

You don't have an appointment
with Senator Reeves?

Well, not exactly...

And you're not a constituent?

You mean do I come
from his home town

and did I vote for
him? No, I didn't.

But I am a U.S.
citizen. Does that help?

The senator's in a meeting right
now and has asked not to be disturbed.

Do you mind if I wait?

Be my guest.

Okay, thank you.

He's still out there.

Well, he can wait 'til Hell
sprouts petunias for all I care.

- Well,
why don't you hear him out?
- Why?

I've already made up my mind.

- Senator Reeves?
- No, Hugh Casey. Look,

I am sorry, somebody should have told
you. The Senator left over an hour ago.

What's going on here?

What is going on here?

I don't want to fight
about this, Brian.

I've thought it all through.

You thought what all through?

Angeline is taking
me to Woodbridge.

Honey, you promised me,
you said you would never even

consider going into a hospital.

Honey, I had to consider it!

I can't take care
of myself anymore.

I can't even...

I can't even run a brush
through my hair anymore.

- And I can't go on
being a burden to you.
- You are no burden to me!

Oh Brian, please...
Gimme a break.

You're trying to run
around after a toddler with

a ball 'n chain
around your ankle.

It's not just you.

It's not fair to Laura.

We've got to
think of her, honey.

I can take care of Laura
and I can take care of you.

No, you can't!

I won't let you.

I won't let you.

She's even more
helpless than I am, Brian.

And she needs her daddy.

She needs her mother, Kitty.

Oh God...

Yes, yes, I understand.

Completely.

I'm sorry if I woke
you. Goodnight, Drew.

Your expression says
they haven't budged.

Yes, but we haven't
lost any ground.

They're so close
to supporting us.

All the Republican leadership in the Ways
and Means Committee needs is a signal

from the pharmaceutical industry

that it's a bill that
they can live with.

They figure that
unless we've got the

drug companies' cooperation,
the bill would be useless.

Which, by my
calculations, leaves us

right back where we started.

Maybe not.

From what Doctor
Quincy tells us,

the pharmaceutical manufacturers
aren't that far outside our camp.

Just far enough outside to
withhold their endorsement.

Unless we bend a little and amend some
of the language they find objectionable.

I think we could get by if we
strike the paragraph forcing them to

keep tabs on
postmarketing side effects.

Oh boy.

Well it's certainly not
worth losing the war over.

All right...

If we remove that stumbling
block. What does that do?

All we need is a letter
of support from the

Drug Industry Council saying that
they're willing to go along with the bill,

then I can almost guarantee that
'Ways and Means' will waive hearings

and shoot it right to
the floor of the House.

And if we can keep
that bipartisan spirit alive,

and if it passes the
House by a healthy margin,

then the whole thing gets dropped
right at Senator Reeves' doorstep.

With the whole world watching.

Yeah, but what if the
whole world isn't watching?

That's when we play our trump.

We can make sure that
it doesn't go unnoticed.

Oh Brian...

You should've called.
I'm an absolute mess.

I think you look beautiful.

You're blind.

That wasn't a temper tantrum.

Just my arm auditioning
for the Dodgers.

What d'ya say we
go out for a walk?

No thanks.

C'mon, where's your wheelchair?

I've been out of it,
lately, it's getting too hard.

Are you telling me

they're keeping you
in this bed all day?

It's my choice.

Like tossing that
pitcher was 'your choice.'

Where's Laura? Why
didn't you bring her?

She's at day care.

She's been keeping
you pretty busy?

Like somebody wound
her up with a key, yeah.

She keeps waking up at night,

calling you name.

Kitty, I'm here to
take you home.

Stop it!

It was hard enough
the first time.

Please, don't make
me go through it again.

Kitty...

You left because you thought
it would be better for Laura.

You thought it would
be easier for me.

The truth is,

I'm miserable.

The baby is miserable.

Nothing's the same without you.

We need you, Kitty.

We need you so
much that it hurts.

Don't you know
what you're asking?

I got a phone call
from Doctor Styer.

He wants us to join
him in Washington.

Some kind of big demonstration.

They think they
finally got a shot

at getting the Orphan
Drug Act through.

I can't go to Washington!

I can't even get out of bed.

Tell him it's impossible.

No!

You tell him.

You call him up right now

and you tell him no.

Tell him it's not
worth the effort.

That you're so wrapped up in
self pity, you don't have the time.

Tell him that you're
too busy waiting to die.

Tell him that all those
other people don't matter.

That nothing matters to you.

Not your husband.

Not your baby.

Nothing.

Go ahead.

You tell him all of that.

No, no, don't call me back.

No, this is too
important, I'll hold.

- Yeah, okay.
- So?

Well, the compromise brought the
Drug Industry Council into our camp.

I'm expecting a letter
of support any minute.

And 'Ways and Means' waived
hearings just like we'd hoped.

The House is voting on it now!

That's fantastic!

Now let's just pray that it doesn't get
bogged down on the floor of the House.

Reeves would be off the hook
without ever having to take the heat.

I spoke to Reeves' office.

His secretary said he was going on
a last campaign swing at two o'clock.

Two o'clock?

Two o'clock is when we planned
the demonstration in front of his office.

He's not going to feel the pressure
if he doesn't he see it for himself.

First things first.
Let's win in the House,

- Then I'll find
a way to stall him.
- Yeah?

Really?

Great, thanks!

The Orphan Drug Act passed the
House by an overwhelming voice vote.

We did it! Great!

Okay, I'm going to
take care of Reeves.

That's right. The Senator
will be leaving really soon.

Sure.

Where's the other receptionist?

Oh, Lucille's at lunch. I'm just
covering the phones for her.

Oh. Would you tell Senator
Reeves that Doctor Quincy from the

Drug Industry
Council is here, please.

But the Senator
is on his way out.

Oh it's very important,
he'll want to see me.

Okay.

Yes, what is it?

Yes, Dr. Quincy from the
Drug Industry Council is here,

he'd like a quick word with you.

Well, it'll have to be
quick! Okay, send him in.

Hello, Doctor Quincy.

I don't believe we've ever met.

Senator Reeves, first
I'd like to apologize for

making my way in here
under false pretenses.

You're not from the DIC?

No, I'm a medical
examiner from Los Angeles.

Well you can tell my
opponent he's a little

premature in sending
the coroner over here.

Senator, I'm here as an
advocate of the Orphan Drug Bill.

Oh, I see.

Well to be perfectly honest, you've picked
a rather bad time to discuss this problem.

I've got to catch a plane home.

Senator, you're not just turning your back
on a piece of legislation. It's people.

The Constitution intended
equal protection for everybody,

not just the strong.

Survival of the fittest
may be okay in the jungle.

But it has no place
in a civilized society.

Don't lecture me on
the Constitution, Doctor.

I consider myself
something of an expert on it.

Now there is nothing
either in its spirit

or letter that says
government has the right

to stick its blundering
finger into everybody's lives.

I suppose you believe in throwing
money at a problem and then

pray that it goes away.

That exactly the kind of
thinking that's got us into this

- economic mess we're in.
- Item...

A young man with myoclonus
is deprived of L-5HTP.

He can't swallow properly,

he gets dehydrated,
precipitating total kidney failure.

What do you think a
lifetime of dialysis and

hospitalization will
cost the government?

Let me tell you something, a great deal
more than providing him with a medicine

and giving him a chance
at independent living.

And that's just one case.
No matter what the short-term

costs, I'm telling you we'll
save money in the long run.

I didn't believe they still made 'em
like you, doctor. Bleeding heart 'n all.

That is not an insult, Senator.

It's a compliment.

You bet my heart bleeds.

It bleeds because people
like you are still punishing

victims of rare diseases
for their misfortunes.

Forgive me, Doctor Quincy,
but I am running late. Very late!

Senator, just before I came over here I
heard that the House passed overwhelmingly

the Orphan Drug Bill.

We are not gonna let
the dream die this time.

Who's we?

Where your constituency Doctor?

If I choose to keep voting against this
bill, it's simply because I think it's in

the best interests
of the nation.

Then you should be
ready for the reaction.

There won't be any reaction.

I've played this
course too many times.

Well, maybe the rules
have been changed.

Why don't you take a look
out the window, Senator?

I cannot support this bill.

But I won't stand in its way.