Should Congress shift the burden of proof about a chemical’s safety or toxicity to the manufacturer before the chemical can be released into the environment?

Two prominent women physician believe that chemical makers should share the same burden as pharmaceutical companies when it comes to product safety.

Jeanne A. Conry, MD, PhD, and Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD, write in The Hill that the Toxic Substances Control Act, unchanged since its passage in 1976, could do much more to protect the public — especially pregnant women and children– from unsafe chemical exposures.

"U.S. and global chemical production has risen steadily, with a more-than-15-fold increase between 1947 and 2007. A reformed Toxic Substances Control Act can give us a greater understanding of the risks posed by toxic chemicals in our environment, and better equip us to inform and care for our patients"
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Why do Conry, who is president of the American Congress of Obstetricians, and Giudice, the past president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, think this is necessary?

"Studies have documented that dozens of toxic chemicals are found in virtually every pregnant woman in the United States," they write "Robust scientific evidence demonstrates that preconception and prenatal exposure to toxic chemicals can have a profound and lasting impact on health across a patient’s life, including increased risk of cancer in childhood and impairment of reproductive health development in adulthood, such as infertility."

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