PUBLIC HEARING

Doray Stein, Evanston, Illinois

I've been coming to IJC meetings now for over half of my life. I was looking a while ago at some of the reports that you did in the 70s and they were wonderful. Just like this woman here said from the Lake Michigan Federation and GLU, it's time that people really start listening to you and you see many of us wearing these badges, Don't Review Follow Through. It's very important.

I speak to you today as a statistic, one of the statistics you've been talking about. Three days before Christmas in 1987, I had an endocrine-disrupting tumor removed on my pituitary and I saw my parents age before me and my dad fall down to his knees as I wheeled into the operating room. It's a horrible thing for a parent to go through. I'll never have to go through that because I'm never going to be able to have children. My body thinks that it's pregnant and I lactate. I moved from my home in Wisconsin down to the University of Chicago because they said, We'll study you, we want to know what's happening. That was 10 years ago. I've got it again and we're still doing studies and we're finding out more and more things. One out of four couples can't conceive. We know that there is problems and people start listening and I know that it's got to be frustrating for all of you, countries working together, and people not listening. We can keep getting mounds and mounds of data and lots and lots of paper, but if we don't do something, there is going to be less and less people to read them. Things are really getting bad, and 10 years later, 20 years later, you're still coming out with the same recommendations and the same things. We know what the problem is. We need to fix it. I have a drug named after me now, and I wonder what is going to happen with my friend's children. Less and less people are here today. You used have to fight to get into this room. It's not because people don't care. It's just that they are so frustrated and they're scared. I like coming to these meetings because I meet people that are working in the field and I listen to the reports and I learn things but now we have to start doing things, all of us together. Thank you.

Commissioner Chamberlin

Thank you for your story Doray. At this time we will adjourn for the afternoon. We will be here at 8:30 tomorrow morning and I look forward to seeing some of you tonight. Thank you.