Policy & Advocacy
Children's Health and the Environment Backgrounder, February 2011
Children's Health and the Environment Backgrounder 2011
Children face greater risks from environmental toxins due to their smaller size, developing bodies, and behaviors. Early exposures increase their lifetime chances of asthma, certain cancers, learning disabilities, and other health issues. Those in poverty and children of color experience higher rates of lead poisoning and asthma hospitalizations.
Catholic Coalition for Children and a Safe Environment (CASE)
- Formed by major Catholic organizations to address environmental hazards affecting children’s health
- 2007 USCCB conference “Protecting Human Life and Caring for Creation” highlighted in-womb toxin exposure and long-term impacts
- 2008 convocation session on “Toxins, the Environment and the Child in the Womb” reinforced collaboration
Research and Policy Support
- USCCB and CASE back the National Children’s Study, following 100,000 children from before birth to age 21 to assess toxin impacts
- Ongoing monitoring of legislative proposals on phthalates, bisphenol-A (BPA), endocrine disruptors, and broader reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- Advocacy for Kid-Safe Chemicals Act to mandate testing of existing and new chemicals for children’s safety
As stewards of creation and defenders of the vulnerable, Catholics are called to protect children—especially the poor and marginalized—from environmental harm and to renew the Church’s commitment “to bring new hope and concrete help to a generation of children at risk.”
What You Can Do
- Urge Congress to strengthen protections against lead, mercury, and other developmental toxins
- Advocate continued funding and implementation of the National Children’s Study
- Encourage state and local authorities to ensure toxin-free environments in schools