FM echoes concern over drug’s legacy

The Scottish Government’s landmark forced adoption apology also included an acknowledgment of concerns over cancer links to the drug Stilbestrol, which was given to women including those facing the forced adoption of their babies.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned of the potential danger to the women who were given the controversial synthetic oestrogen hormone between the 1950s and ’70s.

Forced adoption mums were given the drug to dry up their breast milk so their babies could be taken from them. The drug, which has now been linked to rare cancers and birth defects, was given routinely to millions of women as a “pregnancy vitamin” to prevent miscarriage and bleeding during pregnancy. In her statement to parliament, Sturgeon said: “Up until the early 1970s, mothers in some cases were given Stilbestrol, a drug that dried up their breast milk and that is potentially carcinogenic.

“We will continue to explore with the people affected the key challenges that they face with regard to adoption records and the lasting health impacts that are faced by mothers who were given Stilbestrol.”

Shadow Scottish Social Justice Secretary Miles Briggs called for the chief medical officer to be involved in a concerted awareness campaign to alert all women given Stilbestrol, as well as their children and grandchildren who might be unaware they were exposed.

He said: “The potential danger of cancer means that we must take decisive action. There has already been decades of silence over this drug and that must end now.”

US campaigner and film-maker Caitlin McCarthy, who gave evidence last year to the Scottish Parliament, said: “Scotland just made history. Nicola Sturgeon’s apology was an incredible first step. But the world still has a long way to go regarding DES awareness, research and medical treatment.”