26:2-113 - Legislative findings and declarations - New Jersey Statutes

26:2-113.  Legislative findings and declarations
    The Legislature finds that the effective identification, diagnosis, care and  treatment of persons who have been exposed to diethylstilbestrol, commonly  referred to as DES, is of paramount public importance;  that DES, a synthetic  estrogen-type hormone, was extensively administered between 1940 and 1970 to  pregnant women threatened with miscarriage;  that, subsequently, a causal  relationship was found between DES and an unusual type of cervical and vaginal  cancer in the daughters of persons who took the drug during pregnancy;  that  use of DES during pregnancy has been discontinued as a result of these  findings, but that as many as 75,000 persons in New Jersey may have been  exposed to the drug during its period of usage.

    The Legislature further finds that the magnitude of this problem may only be  realized in the next few years as the daughters of women exposed to the drug  reach reproductive age, the time when such abnormalities become apparent;  that  the situation is compounded by the relative newness of the studies associating  DES with cancer and the uncertainty over the implications of recent research;   and that many physicians are not yet familiar with detection and treatment  techniques because the problem has been relatively recently identified.

    Therefore, the Legislature declares that it is imperative that programs be established to identify and diagnose persons who have been exposed to the drug diethylstilbestrol, to refer them to sources of care and treatment, and to provide an education program for physicians and other health care professionals  so that exposed persons may benefit from the best possible diagnostic  procedures and treatment.

     L.1981, c. 288, s. 1, eff. Sept. 23, 1981.