SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD: Where Is the Public Apology for DES, The World’s First Drug Disaster? by Caitlin McCarthy

THANKS Diana Bianchini for her powerful piece in the HUFFINGTON POST inspired by- and linking- Caitlin’s Post.  Welcome first-time readers.  Please visit our film website… Thanks also to John Payne, lead singer of ASIA Featuring John Payne, who says that the fight for the DES apology has his “full support.” And THANKS to supporters in AUSTRALIA plus producer TED HOPE for his help on Twitter…

An award-winning screenwriter at international film festivals and labs, Caitlin McCarthy has two feature films in development: “Wonder Drug” with director Tom Gilroy (“Spring Forward”); and “Resistance” with director Si Wall (“The Dinner Party,” premiering November 2010). She also has a TV series treatment, “Free Skate,” which is currently being considered by top production companies.

SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD…By Caitlin McCarthy

Caitlin & Sen. Brown

Politics and apologies. They’ve been on my mind this week, what with Tuesday’s primaries and Elizabeth Searle’s recent blog post “I TAKE THAT BACK”: Public Apology Twists, Two-Steps, Tweets & Tunes by Pastor Jones, Kanye West & more.

We live in a country where kids are taught to apologize if they hurt someone. But how often do adults apologize for this – let alone countries?

I am a big believer in the power of an apology. As such, I have been working jointly with the offices of Senator John Kerry and Senator Scott Brown to secure a long-overdue apology from the US Government for the DES (diethylstilbestrol) tragedy.

DES (diethylstilbestrol) is a toxic and carcinogenic synthetic estrogen that was prescribed to millions of pregnant women for decades: from 1938 until 1971 (and in a small number of cases for several years thereafter) in the United States; and until the mid-1980s in parts of Latin America, Europe, Australia, and the Third World.

DES is the world’s first drug disaster, often referred to as the “hidden Thalidomide.” The currently proven effects of exposure include a rare vaginal cancer in DES Daughters; greater risk for breast cancer in DES Mothers; possible risk for testicular cancer in DES Sons; abnormal reproductive organs; infertility; high-risk pregnancies; and an increased risk for breast cancer in DES Daughters after age 40. There are a number of other suspected effects, including auto-immune disorders, but many of these effects are still awaiting further research.

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