A few days ago, Gruenenthal, the maker of thalidomide, issued an apology to the people who were affected by the drug. Thalidomide caused severe birth defects in thousands of babies. Many are seeing the apology by the drug maker, decades after the damage was done, to be lacking.
Thalidomide is a drug that was made by a German company named Gruenenthal. The drug was intended to be used by women who were pregnant as a cure for morning sickness. It was sold in the 1950’s and 1960’s in 46 countries including the UK, Australia, and what was once West Germany. In 1961, thalidomide was taken off the market after it became clear that the drug caused birth defects.
More than 10,000 babies, worldwide, were born with disabilities due to exposure to thalidomide. It caused shortened arms and legs, blindness, deafness, heart problems and brain damage. There are somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 people alive today who were affected by thalidomide. In some countries, the drug was sold under the name Contergan or Distaval.
A few days ago, Gruenenthal issued an apology. Many people are seeing this apology as lacking. It isn’t enough. A man named Geoff Adams-Spink is the head of the European Dysmelia Reference and Information Centre, and is someone who was affected by thalidomide. He said:
“Having tried to remind them of their criminal behavior across a negotiating table on several occasions, I didn’t think this company would ever make things right. This is an important first step. The next is to compensate everyone damaged by their so-called ‘totally harmless’ drug”.
It is worth noting that people in Germany who were victims of thalidomide get a monthly pension of up to 1,116 euros. The money comes from a trust that Gruenenthal contributes to. So, there is precedent for people who were harmed by thalidomide to receive financial compensation.
Gruenenthal’s apology has been described as “pathetic” by lawyers for an Australian survivor of thalidomide. The lawyers represent Lynette Rowe, who was affected by the thalidomide that her mother took for morning sickness. The lawyers also said “It is too little, too late, and riddled with further deceit.”
Another issue is the statue that Gruenenthal commissioned. It was created by the artist Bonifatius Stirnberg and intended to memorialize the victims of thalidomide. The text below the sculpture, (when translated to English), reads: “In memory of the dead and the survivors of the thalidomide catastrophe”.
Gruenenthal paid 5,000 euros for the statue. The federal association of Contergan victims says that the statue is “a slap in the face of every victim”. The association also said “This PR measure is supposed to signal to the public the the company still has Contergan on its agenda, without any serious effort to address the concerns of the people who have been permanently damaged”.
Image by Tax Credits on Flickr