AUSTIN (KXAN) – The governor signed into law the Andrea Sloan Right to Try Act. The law makes it easier for terminally ill patients to get access to experimental drugs.

Patients will be required to give written consent and have a physician’s recommendation. The drugs must have also cleared the first phase of clinical trials.

The law was written in memory of Sloan, the Austin attorney who died of cancer while awaiting a drug’s approval. Her family watched Friday as the governor made Texas the 21st state to pass “Right to Try” legislation.