Prudence Over Profits:

How Dr. Frances Kelsey’s Vigilant Stand Against

Pharmaceutical Interests Averted a National Tragedy

Hannah Chan
Phoebe Chan
Joseph​ ​Heitzmann

Senior Division
Group Performance

Word Count: 500

 On March 8, 1962, the William S. Merrell Drug Company officially withdrew their

application for the drug thalidomide from the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Frances

Oldham Kelsey played a critical role in preventing thalidomide from reaching American

markets. We first discovered the topic thalidomide from watching our favorite television series,

the British 1960s period drama ​Call the Midwife. I​ n one season, thalidomide was prescribed to

pregnant British women to help with their morning sickness. The following season, the drug

eventually caused severe birth defects called phocomelia. Wanting to stay within American

history, we discovered Dr. Frances Kelsey and her actions to prevent thalidomide from being

approved in the United States. What really convinced us to commit to the topic were the major

changes to the FDA after the thalidomide incident.

We started our research by finding obituaries about Dr. Kelsey. There were many

different reports about her life’s work and legacy. We also visited the FDA’s website and

reviewed their web pages about her history. Along the way, we discovered that Dr. Kelsey had

written an autobiography, which became our most valuable source. We wanted to be able to

provide the most accurate information for the phone call and other conflict scenes. We also used

President John Kennedy’s August 1, 1962 speech as the model for explaining Dr. Kelsey’s

legacy, which ultimately became the final scene of our performance. We conducted five

interviews: four with employees of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the

fifth with an obstetrician/gynecologist. These interviews helped us to understand how the FDA

functions in the modern day.

The format for our project is a performance. For our project last year, we did a

performance, so we thought that we could successfully do another one because we were already
well experienced in that particular category. Our topic also contributed to selecting the type of

presentation. We thought that the most effective way to depict the interactions between Dr.

Joseph Murray and Dr. Kelsey, without the exchanges becoming tiresome and repetitive, would

be to enact them. We also felt a performance was the best way to portray the pressure that Dr.

Murray and the William S. Merrell Company was putting on Dr. Kelsey to approve thalidomide.

Our topic holds relevance to the theme of ​Taking a Stand in History​ in multiple ways.

The drug thalidomide was already popular and used worldwide by the time that Dr. Kelsey

received the application. Thalidomide was initially produced in Germany and quickly became

widely available across Europe. Not only was Dr. Kelsey taking a stand against the William S.

Merrell Drug Company, but she was also taking a stand against drug companies across the globe.

She was also a female scientist in the 1960s, which was very rare at that time. The drug company

described her research as inaccurate or completely incorrect because she was a woman. She took

a stand against the stereotypes placed on her and ultimately against the sexism within the

scientific field.