Thalidomide Disabled People

INFORMED THAT THE LAWS BELOW WERE TRANSLATED IN A SIMPLE WAY.
MUST BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, LEGAL AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN EACH COUNTRY, THIS ONLY THEN SERVES AS A SUBSIDY ONLY FOR INFORMATION

Victims of Thalidomide
LAW Nº 7.070, Dec.20th -1982
It is about a special pension for the victims of a physical disability known as "Syndrome of Thalidomide".
THE PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL informs that NATIONAL CONGRESS decrees and he sanctions the following Law:
Art 1º - Executive Branch is allowed to award a special pension, monthly, for life and not transferable, to the victims of a physical disability known as “Syndrome of Thalidomide” for the victims who claim for it. The pension is allowed to be paid since its formal petition is requested at the National Social Security System - INPS.
§ 1º - The value paid as a special pension is adjusted at an annualized rate and it depends on a national rate called -Variação das Obrigações Reajustáveis do Tesouro Nacional ORTN.  It is calculated in terms of points, on the kind of physical disability the disease had caused to the person dependence a physical deformation, to each point a half of the maximum value paid for the minimum wage prevailing in Brazil.
§ 2º - Regarding to the kind of physical disability, the dependence gives different number of points if the person is disabled to work, to commute, to look after their personal care and their nutrition. For each of the topics mentioned above is considered 1 (one) or 2 (two) points, respectively, depending if the dependence is considered to be partial or total.
Art 2º - In order to have the benefit of the law, one should show a medical declaration which attests the conditions mentioned at the previous paragraph, then the case goes to discussion by an official group of doctors from the National Social System. It has to be free of charge.
Art 3º - The beneficiary of the special pension should choose between this one, or some other pension, in other words, it is not possible for the beneficiary to have both of the pension paid by the federal government, since this is a special pension only for the thalidomide’s victims.
Sole paragraph: It is a kind of indemnify benefit which is not related to any other social security benefits, such as the pension for disability to work. (Found in annex - Law nº 9.528, 1997)
§ 3o the beneficiary of the special pension can have an extra amount of money which represents thirty-five percent of the benefit: (Included by the Law nº 10.877, 2004)
I – twenty-five for women, thirty years for men, of contribution to the Social Security; (Found in annex - Law nº 10.877, 2004)
II – fifty-five years of age for men, fifty years of age for women, since the contribution to Social Security had been made for a minimum of fifteen years. (Found in annex - Law nº 10.877, 2004)
Art 4º - The special pension is kept and paid by National Social Security Institute in behalf of National Treasury.

Sole paragraph – Federal Government will make the necessary amount of money available for the Social Security pays the special pensions, the specific appropriation is approved each three months by the federal government.
Art 5º - This law is effective from the moment it had been published.
Art 6º - Repeal the conditions in contract
Brasília - December 20th 1982; 161º from Independence and 94º from Republic.
JOÃO FIGUEIREDO
Carlos Viacava
Hélio Beltrão

LAW Nº 8.686, July20th 1993
It is about the special pension adjustment to the victims of a physical disability known as "Syndrome of Thalidomide".
THE PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL informs that NATIONAL CONGRESS decrees and he sanctions the following Law:
Art. 1º On May 1st of 1993, the special pension is allowed to be paid accordingly Law nº 7.070, December 20th of 1982, will be revised, if there is a multiplication in the total number of points which indicate the decree on the kind of physical disability the disease had caused to the person dependence a physical deformation, in the award damages process, the sum of Cr$ 3.320.000,00.
Sole paragraph. The value of the pension paid regarding to this law cannot be less than a minimum wage.
Art. 2º After June - 1993, the value paid for pension revisions, for this law, has to follow the same index and period of time of other kinds of pensions paid by Social Security.
Art. 3º The victims of ‘Thalidomide’s Syndrome’ take priority to have prostheses and orthotic equipments  and other useful devices for their support, surgeries and medical assistance provided by the Health Ministry, through a system called Unique System of Health - SUS.
Art. 4º this law is effective from the moment it had been published.
Brasília – July 20th of 1993; 172º from Independence and 105º from Republic.
ITAMAR FRANCO
Antônio Brito
Jamil Haddad

ORDINANCE Nº 97 July31 - 1997 Secretary of Heath Assistance SAS/MS:
art. 3º Law 8.686/93 art. 1º: It is decided that the victims will take priority to have prostheses, orthotic equipment and other useful devices for their support, surgeries and medical assistance. It is considered to be indemnified, even the imported products or the products that does not take part of the SUS tariff, giving the high level of disability that the drug causes.
ORDINANCE Nº 354 August 18th of 1997 – Sanitary Inspection/MS decided to enable legislation to importation, production, exportation, commercialization and dispense of Thalidomide.
The packaging of medicine should contain clear information explained in an easy way to understand.
Medical Responsibility Term.
Term of Explanation to the Patients.

LAW Nº 9.528 Dec.11th 1997 changes the laws 8.212 and 8.213 from 1991
Art. 8º-O art. 3º from law 7.070 Dec. 1982 includes the following paragraph:
"The benefit of the pension paid, after it is official accepted, regarding to this law cannot be reduced even if the person turns to be able to work, or has his/her disability to work reduced".

LAW Nº 9.887 Dec.11 1998
This law declares the Association of Thalidomide’ Victims – ABPST State eminent domain.

PROVISIONAL MEASURE 2130-21 de 28.08.2000 - Art. 23 e 24
The measure allows the INSS to re-examine the benefits of Law 7.070/82 after the following date: Nov.05th 1988.
PROVISIONAL MEASURE 2129-10 from June 22nd 2001 - Art. 13 paragraph 2º
the beneficiary of the special pension, who is 35-years old or oldest, who needs permanent assistance of another person and who had his/her punctuation equals or higher than 6, accordingly paragraph 2 of art. 1º can have an extra amount of money which represents 25% of the benefit.

LAW Nº 10.651 from Apr.16th 2003 says about Thalidomide’s usage control.
THE PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL informs that NATIONAL CONGRESS decrees and he sanctions the following Law:
Art. 1o The usage of the drug called Thalidomide, even as a generic brand is under inspection and has to follow special federal rules of control and supervision by the sanitary authorities. It must include, mandatory:
I – special prescription drug paper, which has to be numbered;
II – the drugstore must retain the prescription and send a copy of it to the responsible sanitary organization;
III – packaging and label which show ostensible that the drug is prohibited for pregnant women, or at the risk of pregnancy, simple and clear language at the text message, which makes it very clear for the reader the high probability of teratology effects associated to the drug’s usage;
IV – Directions for taking with the full information about the drug, including a report about the corroborating teratology effects, a term of responsibility that must be signed by the doctor and the patient in the moment the substance is taken to the patient.
Art. 2o Thalidomide must not be sold at regular drugstores and its distribution all over the country must be made by the federal authority qualified programs, it is forbidden the delivery of pills, or sample of the substance without the packaging, label and directions for taking.
Art. 3o The federal programs qualified by the authorities must offer:
I – full explanations to the thalidomide users about the possibly effects of the drug on pregnant women;
II – all the methods of contraception to the fertile women, who use the thalidomide for hanseníase treatment, or any other disease.
Art. 4o Public Authority shall perform the:
I – to promote permanent educational advertisements in order to explain the consequences of the usage of thalidomide in pregnant women and also the necessary information about the special pension accordingly to the law;
II – to encourage the scientific research, so that a more secure drug can replace thalidomide usage on the treatment of the diseases the substance is being used for.
Art. 5o This law is official after 90 (ninety) days of its publication.
Brasília, April 16th 2003; 182o of Independence and 115o of Republic.
LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
Humberto Sérgio Costa Lima

LAWI Nº 10.877 from June 04th 2004 § 3 without any damage - § 2 o, the beneficiary of the special pension should have an additional of thirty-five percent of the benefit since it is proof at least:
I – twenty-five years of contribution to Social Security, for men, and twenty years of contribution to Social Security for women;
II – fifty-five years old, for men, and fifty years old, for women, and fifteen years of contribution to Social Security." (NR)

LAW Nº 11.727 from June 23rd 2008 – Conversion of Provisional Measure nº 413, from 2008
It is about the necessary measures to stimulate investments and the modernization of Tourism industry in order to reinforce Brazilian system of tariff.
Art. 20º. Law number 7.070, December 20th - 1982, art. 4o-A. had been added to this law:
“Art. 4o-A. Income tax-free for the people of special pensions because of the physical disability that art. 1o, of this law deals with and art. 2o immediate payment directly to the beneficiary.
Sole paragraph. The corroborative documentation of the nature of the values, which the caput treats in this article, when received of sources situated abroad, must be translated for legally recognized translator”.

LAW Nº 12.190  from Jan.13th 2010 - The use of thalidomide, amending the Act no. 7070, December 20, 1982, and provides other action.

P R E S I D E N T   O F   T H E   R E P U B L I C
I know that the Congress decrees and I sanction the following law:

1st Article: Compenation shall be granted for damage to persons with physical disabilities caused by thalidomide, which consists of payment of a single value equal to $ 50,000.00 (fifty thousand
real), multiplied by the number of points indicated by the nature and the degree of dependence resulting from the physical deformity (§ 1 of art. 1 of Law no. 7070 of 20 December 1982).

2nd Article: The indemnity provided for in art. 1st will not apply to the tax income and earnings in any nature.

3rd Article:   The 3rd art. of Law no. 7070, 1982, will become effective as follows:
"3rd Article: The retirement benefit provided for in this Law, except for right of option, can not be combined with income or indemnity that, in any way, will be paid by the Union to its persons, except for the compensation for moral damages awarded by specific law. " (NR)

4th Article: The costs of this Law shall run to the account of appropriations from the budget of the Union

5th Article:  The punitive damages in this Law, safeguarded the right of option, can not be combined with any other the same nature granted by judicial decision.

6th Article: This Law shall enter into force on the date of its publication, producing the financial effect from 1st January 2010.

Brasília, January 13, 2010; 189th of the Independence and 122nd of the Republic.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Paulo Teles Ferreira Barreto
Nelson Machado