HORMONE PREGNANCY TEST DRUGS

That this House notes that children were born with serious deformities due to hormone pregnancy test drugs taken by expectant mothers between 1953 and 1975; further notes with concern that as the surviving victims enter their forties and fifties many of them face a host of new problems as their bodies continue to suffer; further notes that no official warnings were issued about these drugs until eight years after the first reports indicated possible dangers; further notes that some doctors continued to prescribe the drugs for pregnant women after official warnings from the Committee on Safety of Medicines; further notes that the Department of Health in the past has continuously rejected requests for an inquiry into these matters; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to set up an independent public inquiry.