German drug firm makes 1st apology for thalidomide

Avatar for cmkarla
Registered: 01-03-2001
German drug firm makes 1st apology for thalidomide
Mon, 09-03-2012 - 11:27am

It's been 50 years in the making, but thousands of babies (now all adults) who were born with birth defects caused from the drug Thalidomide have finally gotten an apology. AP News reports the company as saying "We ask for forgiveness that for nearly 50 years we didn't find a way of reaching out to you from human being to human being," Harald Stock said. "We ask that you regard our long silence as a sign of the shock that your fate caused in us." more of the article

Your thoughts on this apology?


iVillage Member
Registered: 09-02-2003
Sun, 09-09-2012 - 2:00pm
I'm very curious about why they've decided to come out with an apology now. I'm not sure how this will help the victims come to terms with the tragedy. That being said, who knows what is going on behind closed doors (new products coming out, potential legal settlements) I'm sure the apology feeds into a larger strategy.