We, the undersigned, urge the U.S. Congress to support, bring to a vote, and pass House Resolution 342 (IH) — a vital measure introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern that seeks long-overdue justice and recognition for families devastated by the Diethylstilbestrol (DES) tragedy.

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation declaring DES Awareness Week, making him the only president to do so, yet 40 years later, we are still fighting for recognition — with the first official DES Resolution finally being issued on April 21, 2025, during DES Awareness Week.

This is not a partisan issue -- it is a human issue. A family issue. The fight for justice for DES survivors transcends politics. It is about doing what’s right for the people who have lived with this legacy of harm for decades.

DES, a toxic, carcinogenic synthetic estrogen often called "the hidden Thalidomide," was widely prescribed to millions of pregnant women between the 1940s and 1970s in the U.S. -- and millions more around the world until the mid-1980s -- despite known dangers. 

Not a single drug company ever conducted a controlled study on DES’s safety or effectiveness during pregnancy. Yet in 1941, the FDA approved it for limited use in high-risk pregnancies -- and by 1947, expanded that approval to include all pregnancies. Despite the absence of proven benefits and growing safety concerns, DES went on to be widely prescribed, even for routine pregnancies.

As early as 1953, clear scientific evidence revealed that DES was not only ineffective but dangerously harmful, increasing the risk of miscarriage. Yet drug companies knowingly ignored the warnings, continuing to aggressively market and sell the drug -- even going so far as to include it in prescribed prenatal vitamins. 

The consequences have been devastating and multigenerational:

• Rare and aggressive cancers like clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina and cervix
• Breast cancer in both DES Mothers and Daughters
• Infertility, reproductive abnormalities, and high-risk pregnancies in DES Daughters
• Increased risk of reproductive abnormalities, infertility, and potential gender-related and psychological effects in DES Sons, who have been historically overlooked in research and care
• Possible autoimmune disorders that remain under-researched, highlighting the urgent need for expanded studies into the long-term and intergenerational impacts of DES exposure
• Continued harm across generations -- DES Grandchildren and beyond are also at risk

Despite being contraindicated by the FDA in November 1971, DES was never banned. It remained on the market, continuing to be prescribed to unsuspecting women and their unborn children for years after its dangers were well known.

Not one drug company has ever apologized or accepted responsibility for the DES disaster, even though they have paid millions in settlements and verdicts to DES Daughters and Sons for the harm they caused.

Both the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have refused to apologize for the devastation caused by their inaction. 

The FDA's failure to act in the face of overwhelming evidence not only harmed millions of families, but also set a dangerous precedent for the regulation of pharmaceuticals. The FDA must apologize to all those affected and take full responsibility for its catastrophic mishandling of DES. The time for accountability and justice is long overdue.

DES is not just a dangerous drug -- it is a powerful endocrine disruptor, a chemical cousin to the hormone-mimicking toxins we encounter every day in plastics, pesticides, and other environmental pollutants.

DES survivors are the canaries in the coal mine for all of humanity. We are living proof of the devastating impact endocrine-disrupting chemicals can have on human health. If DES could cause this kind of generational damage, the widespread exposure to similar chemicals today represents an urgent public health crisis we can no longer ignore.

House Resolution 342 (IH) calls for three simple but powerful actions:

• Establish DES Awareness Week
• Restore funding to the DES Follow-Up Study
• Secure a formal apology from the FDA

This resolution is about truth, recognition, and healing. It’s not about politics -- it’s about people. About families. About doing what’s right.

We urge Congress to bring H. Res. 342 to a vote -- and to support it.