Doesn what happened with thalidomide show that animal testing doesn work?
One of the major arguments against testing drugs on animals is the example of the drug thalidomide, which caused birth defects. Thalidomide was introduced in 1956 and marketed as a sedative. Within several years, its use had spread around the world and women began taking it to help combat the nausea associated with pregnancy. In 1961, several physicians linked thalidomide with birth defects observed in their patients currently taking it. Almost immediately afterwards, physicians worldwide began confirming these results. Soon after the discovery of the teratogenic effects became known, thalidomide was taken off the market, but 15,000 children suffered disfiguring birth defects and many died. Thalidomide did initially pass safety tests in animals but this was because the proper tests were not performed: thalidomide was not tested on pregnant animals. If a thorough battery of tests had been performed in animals, the teratogenic effects would have been caught. Thalidomide was never approve
