Editing Thalidomide (section)

===Birth defect crisis===
{{main|Thalidomide scandal}}
[[Image:NCP14053.jpg|thumb|Baby born to a mother who had taken thalidomide while pregnant]]
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, more than 10,000 children in 46 countries were born with deformities, such as [[phocomelia]], as a consequence of thalidomide use.<ref name="Bren">{{Cite news | vauthors = Bren L |date=28 February 2001 |title=Frances Oldham Kelsey: FDA Medical Reviewer Leaves Her Mark on History |url=http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps1609/www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2001/201_kelsey.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629135137/http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps1609/www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2001/201_kelsey.html |archive-date=29 June 2011 |access-date=23 December 2009 |work=FDA Consumer |publisher=U.S. [[Food and Drug Administration]]}}</ref> The severity and location of the deformities depended on how many days into the pregnancy the mother was before beginning treatment, with the time-sensitive window occurring approximately between day 20 and day 36 post-fertilisation.<ref name="Thalidomide-induced teratogenesis" /> Thalidomide taken on the 20th day of pregnancy caused central brain damage, day 22 the ears and face, day 24 the arms, and leg damage would occur if taken up to day 28.<ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Black S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DfcDEAAAQBAJ&dq=thalidomide+day+20+central+brain+damage&pg=PT208 |title=Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind |date=2021-06-01 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-951627-94-2 |language=en}}</ref>

It is not known exactly how many worldwide victims of the drug there have been, although estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000.<ref name="nyt-answers">{{Cite news | vauthors = Zimmer C |author-link=Carl Zimmer |date=15 March 2010 |title=Answers Begin to Emerge on How Thalidomide Caused Defects |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16limb.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323152804/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16limb.html |archive-date=23 March 2010 |access-date=21 March 2010 |work=[[New York Times]] |quote=As they report in the current issue of Science, a protein known as cereblon latched on tightly to the thalidomide}}</ref> Despite the side effects, thalidomide was sold in pharmacies in Canada until 1962.<ref name=pmid14076167/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Turning Points of History–Prescription for Disaster |url=http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=21267 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929135332/http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=21267 |archive-date=29 September 2011 |access-date=24 February 2010 |publisher=History Television}}</ref>

====Notable cases====
[[File:Niko von Glasow.jpg|thumb|right|Niko von Glasow, German filmmaker]]
* [[Lorraine Mercer]]  [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]]  of the United Kingdom, born with [[phocomelia]] of both arms and legs, is the only thalidomide survivor to carry the Olympic Torch.<ref name="Tamplin">{{Cite news |date=12 June 2015 |title=Mid Sussex residents honoured by Queen |url=http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/news/local/mid-sussex-residents-honoured-by-queen-1-6795898 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102040642/http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/news/local/mid-sussex-residents-honoured-by-queen-1-6795898 |archive-date=2 January 2016 |access-date=27 December 2015 |work=Mid Sussex Times |vauthors=Tamplin H}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Quasthoff]], an internationally acclaimed bass-baritone, describes himself: "1.34 meters tall, short arms, seven fingers&nbsp;— four right, three left&nbsp;— large, relatively well-formed head, brown eyes, distinctive lips; profession: singer".<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 April 2002 |title=Orpheus lives: A small good thing in Quastoff |url=http://www.portlandphoenix.com/archive/music/02/04/19/classical_Orpheus.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306201745/https://www.portlandphoenix.com/archive/music/02/04/19/classical_Orpheus.html |archive-date=6 March 2012 |access-date=6 June 2013 |website=The Portland Phoenix}}</ref>
* [[Niko von Glasow]] produced a documentary called ''[[NoBody's Perfect]]'', based on the lives of 12 people affected by the drug, which was released in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NoBody's Perfect (2008): Release Info |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266093/releaseinfo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623182019/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266093/releaseinfo |archive-date=23 June 2013 |access-date=6 June 2013 |publisher=IMDB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Film Review: NoBody's Perfect |url=http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=19559 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509033726/http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=19559 |archive-date=9 May 2013 |access-date=6 June 2013 |publisher=Spirituality & Practice |vauthors=Brussat F, Brussat MA}}</ref>
* [[Mercédes Benegbi]], born with phocomelia of both arms, drove the successful campaign for compensation from her government for Canadians who were affected by thalidomide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=9 June 2016 |title=Outstanding eight to receive honorary doctorates at Convocation |url=http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2016-06-07/outstanding-eight-receive-honorary-doctorates-convocation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307123542/http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2016-06-07/outstanding-eight-receive-honorary-doctorates-convocation |archive-date=7 March 2017 |access-date=6 March 2017 |website=Daily News |publisher=University of Windsor |location=Windsor, Ontario, Canada}}</ref>
* [[Mat Fraser (actor)|Mat Fraser]], born with phocomelia of both arms, is an English rock musician, actor, writer and performance artist. He produced a 2002 television documentary "Born Freak", which looked at this historical tradition and its relevance to modern disabled performers. This work has become the subject of academic analysis in the field of disability studies.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Mitchell D, Snyder S |date=June 2005 |title=Exploitations of embodiment: Born Freak and the academic bally plank. |url=http://www.dsq-sds.org/article/view/575/752 |url-status=live |journal=Disability Studies Quarterly |volume=25 |issue=3 |doi=10.18061/dsq.v25i3.575 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023214836/https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/575/752 |archive-date=23 October 2020 |access-date=30 May 2019 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Sue Kent, born in 1963 with phocomelia of both arms, eight inches long, no thumbs, and seven fingers – three on one hand, four on the other - has appeared as a presenter on the BBC TV show ''[[Gardener's World]]'' since 2020, demonstrating her ability to garden using her feet and toes where others would use their hands.<ref>The Thalidomide Trust, Sue Kent's Garden Featured on the BBC, 16 September 2020. https://www.thalidomidetrust.org/sue-kents-garden-featured-on-the-bbc/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023225648/https://www.thalidomidetrust.org/sue-kents-garden-featured-on-the-bbc/ |date=23 October 2022 }}</ref>
* [[Christian Lohr]], born in 1962 with phocomelia of both arms and both legs, is a Swiss politician in the legislature in the [[Canton Thurgau]] including 2 years as its president and has been a member of the [[National Council (Switzerland)|national legislature]] since 2011.<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Gigon A |date=2011-12-27 |title="Fighter" politician unfazed by his disability |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-politics/fighter-politician-unfazed-by-his-disability/31842262 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |language=en}}</ref>