Brazil ordered to compensate thalidomide victimsA federal court has ordered the Brazilian government to compensate children of mothers who took thalidomide thalidomide (thəlĭd`əmĭd'), sleep-inducing drug found to produce skeletal defects in developing fetuses. The drug was marketed in Europe, especially in West Germany and Britain, from 1957 to 1961, and was thought to be so safe that , a drug that caused birth defects birth defects, abnormalities in physical or mental structure or function that are present at birth. They range from minor to seriously deforming or life-threatening. A major defect of some type occurs in approximately 3% of all births. in thousands of people across the world but was withdrawn tardily tar·dy adj. tar·di·er, tar·di·est 1. Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual time; late. 2. Moving slowly; sluggish. in Brazil. The Federal Regional Court of Sao Paulo issued a landmark ruling on the claim for damages filed by children of thalidomide victims born without arms or legs, or with stunted members, among other birth defects. Thalidomide was introduced in Brazil in 1957 as an anesthetic anesthetic Agent that produces a local or general loss of sensation, including pain, and therefore is useful in surgery and dentistry. General anesthesia induces loss of consciousness, most often using hydrocarbons (e.g. against discomforts experienced during pregnancy, but as elsewhere it resulted in severe fetal congenital defects among users. Under the ruling, some 360 children of thalidomide victims, aged around 50, may be given compensation of up to 200,000 reais (about 100,000 dollars), 100 times what they have received thus far. "No one is looking to get rich. What we really want is to prevent others from suffering what we did," one victim told reporters after learning of the court's decision charging the Brazilian government with negligence and irresponsibility. The ruling can be appealed. The World Health Organization recommended banning thalidomide in 1961, but Brazil only withdrew the drug from the market in 1965. Thalidomide was reintroduced in 1966, ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. strictly restricted to treating leprosy leprosy or Hansen's disease (hăn`sənz), chronic, mildly infectious malady capable of producing, when untreated, various deformities and disfigurements. and other diseases, but poor control led to birth defects in a new generation. 
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