Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Thalidomide Crisis: Decades Later, Survivors Demand Justice, Recognition For Severe Defects
The New York Times: The Unseen Survivors Of Thalidomide Want To Be Heard
The man on the bus was staring at her. Carolyn Farmer, 17, noticed him as she closed the Leon Uris novel “Exodus” and gathered her things. It was 1979, and she knew what it was like to have strangers gawk at her: She had been born with shortened arms and fingers missing on each hand. “Are you a thalidomide baby?” he asked as she waited to get off. (Thomas, 3/23)
The New York Times: Thalidomide Use Did Happen Here, These Americans Say
Even though thalidomide did not reach American pharmacy shelves, the drug was distributed to as many as 20,000 patients through two clinical trials run by American companies that were testing it for use in the United States. Now, a group of Americans who say they were affected by the drug are demanding justice and recognition. Here are some of their stories. (Thomas, 3/23)
The New York Times: The Story Of Thalidomide In The U.S., Told Through Documents
In July 1962, the Food and Drug Administration sent an urgent message to its field offices with an assignment it said was “one of the most important we have had in a long time.” Overseas, thousands of babies in Germany, England and other countries were being born with severe defects tied to their mothers’ use of thalidomide, a drug widely taken for insomnia, morning sickness and other ailments. Meanwhile, the federal government sought to figure out what had happened in the United States, and how many babies had been affected. (Thomas, 3/23)
