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Originally posted by daaskapital
Australian women were thalidomide guinea pigs, report says
www.heraldsun.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)
PREGNANT Australian women were used in world-first trials of the notorious morning sickness pill thalidomide before it was tested on animals, it has been reported.
Documents from thalidomide distributor Distillers Company (Biochemicals) show Australian women were used in trials of its drug Distaval in 1960, Fairfax reports.
Trials took place on pregnant women at Sydney's Crown Street Women's and Royal Prince Alfred hospitals from May 1961, with other trials in Melbourne and Adelaide.
ALLISON LANGDON: There is nothing worse you can say about a modern German company than what our evidence points to - a firm that offered safe haven and prosperity to some of the Nazis' worst war criminals. More chilling still to consider is the direct link between Grünenthal here in Aachen - and a place so terrible it almost defies belief - Auschwitz extermination camp. Our evidence suggests Thalidomide was invented here as an antidote to nerve gas, and probably tested on prisoners in this laboratory of human suffering.
Thalidomide was developed by German pharmaceutical giant Grunenthal in the 1950s and sold in millions of doses to an unsuspecting world.
Originally posted by daaskapital
A 1962 letter written by a Distillers executive also confirms that "no tests were carried out in pregnant animals before Distaval was marketed", it says.
In 1961, malformed babies were born in Australia as a result of the trials, as well as over-the-counter sales and prescription sales, which began in 1960.
The documents also show Distillers kept promoting the drug to GPs and pushing to include it on Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme despite warnings from a Sydney obstetrician, who said patients of his who'd been taking thalidomide had produced malformed or dead babies, the report says.
This is sickening!
Australian women were subjected to these experimental 'treatments' before animals were. effectively they were treated as inferior to animals.
www.heraldsun.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)
Originally posted by Griffo515
Originally posted by daaskapital
A 1962 letter written by a Distillers executive also confirms that "no tests were carried out in pregnant animals before Distaval was marketed", it says.
In 1961, malformed babies were born in Australia as a result of the trials, as well as over-the-counter sales and prescription sales, which began in 1960.
The documents also show Distillers kept promoting the drug to GPs and pushing to include it on Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme despite warnings from a Sydney obstetrician, who said patients of his who'd been taking thalidomide had produced malformed or dead babies, the report says.
This is sickening!
Australian women were subjected to these experimental 'treatments' before animals were. effectively they were treated as inferior to animals.
www.heraldsun.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)
If you really think that animals are inferior to humans, than it is you who is sickening.
Think you could honestly say you would survive a 1v1 hand to hand fight with a lion or honey badger?
Sorry, just saying.edit on 27-7-2012 by Griffo515 because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by JustMike
reply to post by rootbranch2012
I'd agree that the evidence for the Nazi death camp connection is a bit thin, but it's true that in the 60 Minutes transcript it says:
ALLISON LANGDON: There is nothing worse you can say about a modern German company than what our evidence points to - a firm that offered safe haven and prosperity to some of the Nazis' worst war criminals. More chilling still to consider is the direct link between Grünenthal here in Aachen - and a place so terrible it almost defies belief - Auschwitz extermination camp. Our evidence suggests Thalidomide was invented here as an antidote to nerve gas, and probably tested on prisoners in this laboratory of human suffering.
This was news to me. I grew up in Australia and started primary school in the early 1960s and recall a few kids (mostly a little younger than me) who were thalidomide victims. (The drug was withdrawn in 1961.) But I have never heard any reference to possible Nazi camp tests.
However, for clarification the 60 Minutes article states near the beginning (before the transcript):
Thalidomide was developed by German pharmaceutical giant Grunenthal in the 1950s and sold in millions of doses to an unsuspecting world.
(Quotes from the 60 Minutes article as already noted by previous posters. Link included here for T&C reasons.)
So, it's interesting that it says "developed". This could be interpreted to mean that the drug was invented before the 1950s. Development (and testing) can take many years, after all.
Regarding the OP title, that "Australian women were thalidomide guinea pigs", I tend to feel that while this is true, their unborn children were even more so. While the parents' suffering is unquestioned, those now-adult children are the ones who have suffered most.
Just a final comment: my younger sister was born in the mid-1960s, when the now-withrawn Thalidomide drug was still very much in people's minds. I recall my mother saying years later that she refused any special medication while carrying her (meaning my sister), for fear of the possible consequences. She just used "traditional" remedies if needed.
Mikeedit on 27/7/12 by JustMike because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by SheeplFlavoredAgain
reply to post by rootbranch2012
Immediately after the birth of my daughter, my ob/gyn prescribed me at least one pain killer and one antibiotic they assured me would be safe to take while nursing. I called my daughter's pediatrician to get his opinion and he blew a gasket at the idea and said "Absolutely not!". He cautioned me not to take anything unless it was a medical emergency for me. I actually coordinated with him when I decided to go on Zoloft. We worked on getting my daughter weaned first. My own GP felt it would be "low to moderate risk" to take it while nursing but she did want me to consult the pediatrician. During my pregnancy I was online at a pregnancy forum and knew many women who made the calculated risk to take medications while pregnant because they'd gotten mental health issues so bad it endangered their pregnancies. I wonder how it worked out for their babies. My daughter's pediatrician is just so emphatic about not taking pharmaceuticals while pregnant or nursing, I take it pretty seriously myself. I am surprised my ob/gyns were so cavalier about dispensing prescriptions, by comparison.
Originally posted by Night Star
That makes my blood boil! It's so heartless what some humans can do to others.
Originally posted by bluemirage5
reply to post by rootbranch2012
My generation of women and those after us already know about it and are well educated on this drug and those similar. Over here, we're not stupid.
This affected the women mostly of the generation before me.
Originally posted by Ilyich
reply to post by daaskapital
INFERIOR TO ANIMALS!!! OMG
get over it we're animals too, and personally I'd rather people don't test on animals.
I think this is disgusting, barbaric and deceitful in itself, no one should be subjected to experimentation with out their consent.
Originally posted by votan
reply to post by daaskapital
Why did the women agree to take the pill??? was it mandatory ?