There’s nothing quite like a “buzzer-beater” shot that wins the last game at literally the last second. Everyone loves to see a desperate, half-court shot that turns a loss into a victory, whether it’s the NBA or a high school game. Players on a losing side have nothing to lose, and sharing their long-shot glory makes us all feel like we have more control over our lives.

Of course, sometimes people who need to beat the buzzer have much more at stake than a basketball game. There are many families worldwide suffering from rare diseases who are hoping that a proverbial buzzer-beater could save lives.

Over the last year and a half, two parallel stories have emerged that reveal a critical gap in how governments prioritize access to rare disease treatments, one in the nation of Georgia across the world and the other here in Washington, D.C.

In Georgia, families of children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) have maintained a continuous protest for more than 500 days, sleeping on wooden benches outside the government building while their children deteriorate. About 100 children in Georgia have DMD; three have died during the course of this protest. Because it’s so rare, treatment doesn’t get a lot of resources. Meanwhile, here in the........

© Townhall