The 60 year old thalidomide cover-up

[niyad]

1. and let us not forget sherri finkbine, whose situation so outraged the anti-choicers

(see starred section)
Sherri Finkbine

Sherri Finkbine (born Sherri Chessen in 1932) is an American television actress.

Finkbine was known as Miss Sherri on the local Phoenix, Arizona, version of the franchised children's show, Romper Room. The Finkbine Case began in London, England in 1961, when her husband was chaperoning sixty-four high school students on a European tour. He obtained some Thalidomide and carried the remainder home. Finkbine took thirty-six of the pills in the early stages of her pregnancy. Neither she nor her husband was aware, until July 1962, that the pills contained Thalidomide.[1]
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In 1962, when Finkbine was pregnant with her fifth child, she had been taking Thalidomide, a drug which if taken by a pregnant woman, causes the fetus(es) within her to become deformed while in utero.[2] Finkbine's physician[who?] strongly recommended that she obtain a therapeutic abortion,[3] the only type of abortion that was permitted in Arizona at the time. Finkbine contacted a friend at the Arizona Republic to tell her story, so that other women who were taking Thalidomide would be warned. Although Finkbine had been assured anonymity, her identity was not kept secret. [4]

Following the paper's publication of Finkbine's story, the hospital at which she planned to have the abortion performed, wary of the publicity, sought assurance that it would not be prosecuted.[5] When such assurance was not forthcoming, the scheduled abortion was canceled. When Finkbine's physician asked for a court order to proceed with the abortion, Finkbine and her husband became public figures,[6][7] receiving letters and phone calls in opposition to her requested abortion. A few letters included death threats,[3] and the FBI was brought in to protect her.[8] She also lost her job at the TV station.[9] Finkbine’s case was dismissed by Judge Yale McFate, who found that he didn’t have the authority to make a decision on the matter. [4]
Swedish abortion

Finkbine attempted to go to Japan to obtain the abortion, but was denied a visa by the Japanese Consul.[10][11] She and her husband then flew to Sweden where she obtained a successful and legal abortion, which caused a minor controversy. The abortion panel of the Royal Swedish Medical Board granted Finkbine's request for an abortion on August 17, 1962, to safeguard her mental health.[12] The operation was performed the following day.[1]
The Swedish obstetrician who performed the abortion told Finkbine that **********the fetus had no legs and only one arm and would not have survived. It was too badly deformed to be identified as a boy or a girl.******[13] In 1965, Finkbine had another baby, a healthy girl

. . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherri_Finkbine





fifty years ago, aug 18 1962

. . . .

Finkbine had been promised anonymity, but her identity was exposed and her story created a media firestorm. Limited by abortion laws and fearing the publicity, hospitals in the United States denied Finkbine abortion services. She asked the Arizona Superior Court for immunity from prosecution if she obtained an abortion in Arizona. At that time, Arizona law allowed abortions only if the mother’s life was in danger. Judge Yale McFate dismissed Finkbine’s case, arguing that there was no legal controversy and that he didn’t have the authority to make a decision on the matter. Finkbine was finally able to obtain an abortion in Sweden on August 18, 1962. It was confirmed at the time of the abortion that her child would have been severely deformed.
. . . .

http://blog.advocatesaz.org/2012/08/15/sherri-finkbines-abortion-its-meaning-50-years-later/#more-4162