Australia to apologise 50 years after ‘Thalidomide tragedy’ caused widespread birth defects
- Prime minister says government will issue national apology to all affected by the drug, which caused widespread birth defects in the 1960s
- There are 146 Thalidomide survivors registered in Australia, though the exact number of affected is unknown
Australia will issue a national apology to all citizens affected by the “Thalidomide tragedy”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, more than half a century after babies were born with birth defects when mothers took the morning sickness pill.
Thalidomide was the active ingredient in a sedative widely distributed to many mothers in Australia and around the world in the early 1960s. It was found to cause malformation of limbs, facial features and internal organs in unborn children.
“The thalidomide tragedy is a dark chapter in the history of our nation and the world,” Albanese said in a statement. “The survivors, their families, friends and carers have advocated for this apology with courage and conviction for many years. This moment is a long overdue national acknowledgement of all they have endured and all they have fought for.”
The thalidomide scandal triggered a worldwide overhaul of drug-testing regimes and boosted the reputation of the US Food and Drug Administration, which proved a lone voice in refusing to approve the drug, although it was distributed in the United States for testing. The British government in 2010 apologised to the victims.
Thalidomide, developed by the German firm Gruenenthal, killed an estimated 80,000 children around the world before they were born, and 20,000 more were born with defects.
