March 22, 2023

The awful lesson of Thalidomide

Michael Cook

The New York Times has taken a look at the awful history of Thalidomide, the drug which caused thousands of children around the world to be born with deformed and shortened limbs. It is deeply disturbing.

The New York Times has taken a look at the awful history of Thalidomide, the drug which caused thousands of children around the world to be born with deformed and shortened limbs. It is deeply disturbing. In the 1950s the German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal marketed it as a safe sleeping pill and as a remedy for morning sickness. Nowadays it is being used as to treat leprosy, especially in Brazil. Despite all the warnings, children are still being born there with severe defects. (Click here to see video.)

Michael Cook
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