Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in August this country lost a hero, a woman most have not heard of, but her story is legendary. Frances Oldham Kelsey passed away in August at the age of 101. She was a woman of tremendous courage and conviction. She was a trailblazing scientist. She earned her Ph.D. and then her medical degree from the University of Chicago while raising daughters. She did things that women of her generation were usually not allowed to do or certainly rarely encouraged to do. As she began her professional life, it was the early 1960s and a horrific scourge was afflicting Europe and other countries around the world. Thousands of babies were dying in the womb, thousands more were born with severe birth defects--including deformed arms and legs that, as history will tell us, resembled flippers--missing organs, missing limbs. The United States was largely spared from these terrible effects because of Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey. As a medical officer at the FDA, Dr. Kelsey was charged with investigating and approving the drug called Kevadon, better known in history by its generic name, thalidomide. The pharmaceutical company Merrell was expecting a speedy approval. After all, the drug was used around the world as a sedative and as a treatment for morning sickness. The drug had made a windfall for its German manufacturer, and Merrell was hoping for the same in our country. But Dr.…”