Would you let a baby drink poison?

As early as today, Illinois lawmakers will consider a law to protect our vulnerable babies and toddlers from an unseen but pervasive plastic poison. We hope they will act quickly.

Many retailers and manufacturers have independently removed products that contain bisphenol-A, known as BPA, a chemical added to plastic, including baby bottles and "sippie" cups.

The synthetic hormone is known to cause health difficulties, particularly for little ones unable to excrete the chemical from their systems. Health officials say that BPA exposure can disrupt hormones, causing reproductive problems and cancers in adults. It has starker impact in infants and fetuses, harming brain and physical development with potential long-term impact.

Dr. Gail Prins of the University of Illinois at Chicago has studied BPA's impact on the prostate gland in early-life exposure and says the "endocrine disrupting chemical" has been shown to dramatically increase cancer in rats. She says the synthetic hormone has a "huge impact" on babies during a critical time of development.

Canadian officials have already heeded the warnings and quickly acted to ban the substance, as have many states.

But federal officials charged with protecting public health have hesitated. Federal Food and Drug Association officials say they are still studying the issue but initially discounted concerns about the chemical's impact. Since that finding - and a telling advisory to parents to use glass vs. BPA-laced plastic baby bottles - many, including an FDA advisory panel, have since questioned the findings as provided by the very chemical firms that produce BPA. The FDA has since reopened its study.

Meanwhile, retailers and manufacturers, some responding to public outcry, have acted to either stop making products with it or to remove it from their shelves. But it has been voluntary, not required, meaning many unsuspecting parents may be purchasing BPA-laced products for their children.

This is not a time for the sort of bureaucratic malaise that has permitted numerous food-spread infections to spread like wildfire or that permitted the prevalent use of DDT - like BPA an "endocrine disrupter."

Illinois lawmakers will soon vote on House Bill 2485, the Child-Safe Chemicals Act, which would prohibit the sale or distribution of reusable BPA-laced products like baby bottles and toddler cups used for food or liquid by children under 3.

The bill, proposed by Illinois state Rep. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook, is expected to come up for a vote today or Friday. We echo the many public health groups urging lawmakers to protect our youngest residents despite the pressures from chemical manufactures to defeat this bill.

We have one question for Illinois lawmakers as they consider how they'll vote:

Would you want your son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter to drink milk from a BPA-laced bottle or cup today?

Act quickly to make sure no one's child does.