2178

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 619

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act
shall take effect July 1, 1980.

Approved May 20, 1980.

CHAPTER 620

(House Bill 994)

AN ACT concerning

Drug DES - Accident or Health Insurance

FOR the purpose of prohibiting insurers from denying or
canceling policies of nonprofit health insurance plans,
accident or health insurance, or group or blanket
accident or health insurance solely because insured
persons have been exposed to Diethylstilbestrol,
commonly referred to as DES.

BY adding to

Article 48A - Insurance Code

Section 354U, 470P, and 477C

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1979 Replacement Volume and 1979 Supplement)

Preamble

The effective identification, screening, diagnosis,
care, and treatment of persons who have taken
diethylstilbestrol, commonly referred to as DES, or who have
been exposed to DES prenatally is of paramount public
importance.

Between 1940 and 1970, DES, a synthetic estrogen-type
hormone, was extensively administered to pregnant women
threatened with miscarriage. Subsequently, a causal
association was found between DES and certain types of
cancer and abnormalities in the offspring of those who took
the drug during pregnancy. As a result of these findings,
the use of DES during pregnancy has been discontinued. The
vast majority of exposed persons are unaware of their
exposure and have not been adequately screened for any
malignant condition.

This problem in cancer control is likely to grow
significantly over the next few years as exposed female
offspring reach reproductive age, the time when
abnormalities become apparent. The situation is compounded
by the relative newness of the studies associating DES with
cancer; now, therefore,