On October 1st, 1953, what people thought would be a “miracle drug” was released. This drug was called thalidomide. It was originally created in Germany, and was used to help people go to sleep, and also helped relieve pregnant women from the pain of morning sickness. The drug was used worldwide. Unfortunately, the people who took thalidomide had no idea how it would affect the their offsprings. What would be called Thalidomide babies were born. These babies were born with disabilities such as no limbs, loss of hearing, or loss of sight. Today there are over 5,000 thalidomide survivors fighting to end all use of this terrible drug (Dove, 2011). Starting in 1954, thalidomide had a patent for 20 years, labeled as Contergan (Mandal, 2015). It
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When mothers saw what had turned out to be their disabilitated children they were not only outraged, but equally confused. What would they have consumed to possible deform their babies this greatly? As they science figured out that thalidomide was causing these sublethal effects, people were astonished. The women were now being told that this “miracle” pharmaceutical drug was actually harming their babies, and people started to get angry. Over 1,000 of the estimated 10,000 thalidomide babies that were born died within their first years of living. Now there are are less than 6,000 surviving today. The victims of Thalidomide have been criticized their whole life, but for the survivors in Canada, there may be a solution. The Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada was created in December of 1987 to help thalidomide survivors feel welcome, and provide any services that they might need. They encourage “thalidomiders” to get more involved with their communities, and become more interactive, despite the fact of their physical differences. In this day in age, people are often judged and made fun of if they are different. Thalidomide caused the deformation of many children, and because of this, over 9,000 people’s lives were greatly affected in a very terrible
When mothers saw what had turned out to be their disabilitated children they were not only outraged, but equally confused. What would they have consumed to possible deform their babies this greatly? As they science figured out that thalidomide was causing these sublethal effects, people were astonished. The women were now being told that this “miracle” pharmaceutical drug was actually harming their babies, and people started to get angry. Over 1,000 of the estimated 10,000 thalidomide babies that were born died within their first years of living. Now there are are less than 6,000 surviving today. The victims of Thalidomide have been criticized their whole life, but for the survivors in Canada, there may be a solution. The Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada was created in December of 1987 to help thalidomide survivors feel welcome, and provide any services that they might need. They encourage “thalidomiders” to get more involved with their communities, and become more interactive, despite the fact of their physical differences. In this day in age, people are often judged and made fun of if they are different. Thalidomide caused the deformation of many children, and because of this, over 9,000 people’s lives were greatly affected in a very terrible