If you are unable to view this message, click here »

Dear  Denise,

We can't do this work without your support. Click here to donate now »

Today we are celebrating a turning point for prevention, and I couldn't wait to share the exciting news with you.

For the first time, our U.S. Congress has banned a chemical based on evidence of harm rather than absolute, definitive proof of harm. Our lawmakers dared to look at how poorly chemicals are regulated in this country—at the fact that toxic chemicals called phthalates are allowed in children's toys—and then they dared to say that it's unacceptable.

Last night the U.S. Senate voted 89-3 to ban six phthalates from children's toys, teethers and other soft, plastic childcare products. The House approved the bill Wednesday, and now our sights are on President Bush.

The Breast Cancer Fund has been at the forefront of this effort because phthalates are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer and early puberty, and young children are especially vulnerable. Your donation today can help us continue this work until the bill is signed by the President and implemented.

At the Breast Cancer Fund, we've been living and breathing rubber duckies since Sen. Dianne Feinstein added this phthalate ban to the Senate version of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, which also bans lead from toys.

Since May, a committee of Congress has been reconciling the differences between the Senate and House versions. One of the most hotly debated elements of the bill was the phthalate amendment, in no small part because of the lobbying efforts by the chemical industry and Exxon Mobile, which, as it turns out, is the world's leading producer of the phthalate most often used in toys.

Industry may have more cash, but we have the power of parents, nurses, consumer advocates, scientists and environmental advocates. Without those voices, we would not be celebrating today. They helped convince Congress that children's health—now and in the future—should be our top priority.

I'm looking ahead to a very near future when toys aren't toxic. And I'm looking forward to a future that's much closer today than it was before this vote, a future in which Americans don't face the burden of unsafe chemical exposures because we have real chemical policy oversight.

You're a part of this change, too. Please consider a donation in support of our victory today and the challenges ahead.

Yours very truly,

Jeanne Rizzo, R.N.
Breast Cancer Fund President and CEO

Make a secure online donation »

Prefer to donate by phone or mail? Call us toll-free at (866) 760-8223 or click here for a printable donation form to mail or fax to us.