Australia to apologise half a century after 'Thalidomide tragedy'

FILE PHOTO: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses a joint press conference with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will issue a national apology to all citizens affected by the "Thalidomide tragedy", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, more than half a century after babies were born with birth defects when mothers took the morning sickness pill.

Thalidomide was the active ingredient in a sedative widely distributed to many mothers in Australia and around the world in the early 1960s. It was found to cause malformation of limbs, facial features and internal organs in unborn children.