Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that a national apology will be issued to all citizens affected by the “Thalidomide tragedy” more than 50 years after babies were born with birth defects due to the morning sickness pill.
The active ingredient in Thalidomide, a sedative widely distributed in the early 1960s, was found to cause malformation of limbs, facial features, and internal organs in unborn children.
In a statement, Albanese referred to the thalidomide tragedy as a dark chapter in the history of Australia and the world. He acknowledged the survivors and their families, friends, and carers who have advocated for the apology with courage and conviction for many years.
The worldwide fallout from the thalidomide scandal led to a revamp of drug-testing regimes and bolstered the reputation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which refused to approve the drug. The British government issued an apology to the victims in 2010.
Thalidomide, developed by the German firm Gruenenthal, caused an estimated 80,000 children to die around the world before they were born, and 20,000 more were born with defects.
In 2012, an Australian woman born without arms and legs due to her mother taking Thalidomide won a multi-million dollar settlement from Diageo Plc, the local distributor. In 2010, Diageo agreed to make a A$50 million ($32 million) payment to 45 victims in Australia and New Zealand.
Albanese is set to deliver the apology in parliament on Nov. 29. There are 146 Thalidomide survivors registered with the government, though the exact number of affected individuals is unknown.
“In giving this apology, we will acknowledge all those babies who died and the families who mourn them, as well as those who survived but whose lives were made so much harder by the effects of this terrible drug,” Albanese stated.
($1 = 1.5716 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry Doyle)
