At 25, filmmaker/organizer Judith Helfand was working on a documentary about the carcinogenic steroid diethylstilbestrol (DES), which had been prescribed to pregnant women to prevent miscarriage from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. When Judith was diagnosed with DES-related cancer herself, she withdrew from the film and began to make her own documentary. The film weaves together Judith’s story with the history of DES, including a powerful indictment of pharmaceutical companies denial and minimization of risks in order to retain a large market for the drug, which was prescribed to millions of women even long after it was known that it did not, in fact, prevent miscarriage. First released more than 20 years ago, the film remains a potent reminder of the risks and covert interests that are at play in attempts to improve reproduction through technologies.
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