H.Res. 342 is a symbolic resolution that recognizes the historical harm caused by diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen that was prescribed to approximately 5 to 10 million pregnant women in the United States between the 1940s and 1971 to prevent miscarriages. The resolution acknowledges that DES exposure in the womb caused serious health problems in affected children, including rare cancers (clear cell adenocarcinoma) in daughters and increased fertility and pregnancy complications in both sons and daughters throughout their lives. The resolution designates April 20-26, 2025, as DES Awareness Week and calls on Congress to support continued funding for the DES Follow-Up Study, which tracks the long-term health effects of the drug. It also urges the FDA to issue a formal apology to the families impacted by DES, acknowledging the agency's role in allowing the drug's prolonged use despite eventually banning it in 1971. While this resolution does not create new law or allocate specific funding, it represents a formal recognition of a major public health failure and supports ongoing research and acknowledgment of the affected families.
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