Washington State mom testifies before Congress

In November, we told you about the Earliest Exposures Report -- a report which described the test results of pregnant women who were tested in Washington, Oregon and California. Despite their best efforts, the mothers-to-be tested with high levels of levels of bisphenol A , mercury, phthalates, and perfluorinated -- or “Teflon” -- chemicals in their blood.

At the time, we stated that the Earliest Exposures study underlined the need for states to pass laws protecting children and pregnant women from toxic chemicals.

One of the women tested during the study was Dr. Molly Gray, a Washington state resident who is now the mother to 7-month old Pax.

Molly realized that the states also need a strong federal law to help protect her and her son, and this week she went to Washington to testify in front of a US Senate committee to tell her story.

“Something is wrong when I, as an educated consumer, am unable to protect my baby from toxic chemicals. I and all other parents should be able to walk into stores and buy what we need without winding up with products that put our families’ health at risk. Now that I’ve learned that companies can put chemicals into products without ever testing for whether they harm our health, I think we need to change our laws.”

You can read the full text of her testimony here.

The committee is the first hurdle in the battle to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA -- a decades-old law which oversees toxic chemical regulation that is in desperate need of updating.

We’re proud of Molly for having the courage to tell her story! Tell Congress you agree with her, and that it’s time to update our nation’s laws on toxic chemicals.