National apology for Australian survivors of thalidomide

Australian Community Media

Worldwide, some 100,000 babies are estimated to have been affected by the drug, which was found to cause miscarriages, stillbirths, and perinatal deaths when given to pregnant women in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Transcript

00:00 We are sorry you have suffered your own hurt, even though what happened is not your fault, and it never was.

00:08 We are sorry not imagining that these words can resolve the anguish or remove the pain.

00:15 We understand an apology does not balance years of inaction and inadequate support.

00:22 We know the toll of thalidomide is still felt today.

00:27 We know it will still be felt tomorrow.

00:31 But we make this national apology as an expression of a historical dereliction of duty,

00:38 an affirmation of a recognition of responsibility, as a proclamation of a profound sense of regret.

00:45 With this sorry, we acknowledge national shortcomings.

00:49 With this sorry, we take the important step in strengthening the soul of our democracy through a reverence for the truth.

00:56 Peace.

00:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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