Curb Attorney TV Ads, Drug Makers and Doctors Urge Congress

Members of the U.S. House’s judiciary committee heard competing testimony June 23 about whether Congress should step in to regulate what one witness described as “1-800-BAD-DRUG” attorney advertisements.

Proponents of congressional regulation say that these ads, in which plaintiffs’ attorneys solicit clients for drug product liability suits, have scared some patients into discontinuing vital medication regimens without consulting their doctors. But opponents say existing state advertising rules are sufficient to protect the public, and any congressional regulation could infringe upon state sovereignty and attorneys’ free speech rights.

The testimony was the latest development in an emerging fight that pits a ...