The U.S. has more thalidomide survivors than the government admits

In the 1950s and 1960s, doctors gave the drug thalidomide to pregnant patients without telling them — and without FDA approval. Now those patients' children want recognition.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3300x3233+0+0/resize/3300x3233!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc9%2F8a%2Fe5e00fe4494caf61b4b7c3356cbf%2Fap19266617691776.jpg' alt='Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, then-pharmacologist at the Food and Drug Administration, holds three packages of Contergan, the German brand name for thalidomide, on Oct. 15, 1962. Kelsey prevented the FDA from approving the drug for general use in the United States.'/><p>In the 1950s and 1960s, doctors gave the drug thalidomide to pregnant patients without telling them — and without FDA approval. Now those patients' children want recognition.</p><p>(Image credit: William J. Smith/AP)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5979047' />