World Journal of Law, Governance and Public Policy
Multigenerational Effects of Synthetic Sex Hormones (As EndocrineDisruptor Chemicals) Administered During Pregnancy: A Legal Perspective
Abstract
Marie-Odile Soyer-Gobillard, Laura Gaspari-Sultan, Yette Blanchet, Yvon Cosquer, Mauricette Puillandre-Maugis, Eve Dutrievoz and Charles Sultan
Synthetic sex hormones (estrogens and progestogens) were prescribed to pregnant women for decades without regard for the precautionary principle. Data from patient cohorts in the United Kingdom, United States and France indicate a significantly increased rate of somatic malformations and/or psychiatric disorders in children of women who were treated with these hormones during pregnancy. They also highlight the existence of multigenerational effects of exposure to synthetic hormones in several generations: pregnant mothers, their children (prenatal exposure), their grandchildren (via the germinal cells of the exposed fetus) and potentially their great-grandchildren (individuals who were never directly exposed: transgenerational effects).
Data from Danish and Chinese cohorts demonstrated the link between prenatal exposure to estrogens and progestins and autism spectrum disorders. These findings reveal that the damage caused by synthetic sex hormones is delayed. As with all fetal xenoestrogens, the consequences are only visible several years later: psychiatric disorders appear often after the adolescence period and cognitive disorders several years after birth in children and grandchildren. Concerning psychiatric disorders induced by synthetic estrogens and progestogens, legal proceedings were initiated in criminal court by families belonging to the French patient association HHORAGES-France from 2001 to 2017 and following their failure, in civil court from 2018 to 2024. This last procedure failed due to the ten-year limitation period for complaints before a civil court. This article describes these actions, their outcomes and the reasons for their failure, and also the current efforts to amend the law through parliamentary action, in connection with recent scientific advances