she was charged with investigating and approving the drug called kevedan, better known in history as thalaydamide. the pharmacy was expecting a speedy approval because it was used as a sedative. they were hoping for the same in our country. dr. kelsey who at that time a woman in a very much a man's world at the f.d.a., a woman who was not all that experienced yet, was willing to show her courage and demand for the investigation before she would approve this drug. with few studies providing the safety of the drug, she rejected the application. merrill protested, drug companies were outraged. a number of other employees at the f.d.a. disagreed. she asked for, though, and reviewed more did the and again she rejected the application. again merrill protested, again other people were outraged by this woman's decision. merrill's executors called her a petty and nit-picking bureaucrat. it's always easy to pick on a nameless, faceless bureaucrat or a named bureaucrat with a face. it's easy to pick on bureaucrats. people here do it all the time. they called her office, peppered her with letter