Decades after the FDA blocked the widespread approval of thalidomide, a growing community of American survivors is demanding official recognition that the U.S. government undercounted the number of people harmed by the drug. While federal authorities have long maintained that the United States avoided the catastrophic birth defect epidemic seen in other nations, these individuals assert that doctors administered the sedative to thousands of pregnant patients without their knowledge.
The controversy centers on William S. Merrell, a Cincinnati-based pharmaceutical company that submitted an application for thalidomide approval to the FDA in late 1960. The company anticipated a swift review and hoped to have the drug available for Christmas sales. However, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, an FDA pharmacologist, halted the process after identifying safety concerns. Her resistance ultimately saved countless American families from what President John F. Kennedy described as a
I remember my grandmother talking about this era. She said doctors prescribed everything back then with little regulation.
It is alarming that doctors had this much power without consent. Medical ethics have come a long way since then.
How many cases are we actually talking about? The article doesn’t specify numbers, just ‘thousands.’
Dr. Kelsey was a hero, but these survivors deserve justice. Their suffering shouldn’t be ignored by the government.