The sample of people who participated in the the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment consisted of African-American farmers. They were recruited through the Rosenwault Foundation, which aimed to support the African-American communities and help them get an education (Today I found out, 2019). However, after the Great Depression, this organization could no longer operate. The division for treating venereal diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recruited individuals living in an impoverished county in Alabama. They believed that they agreed to participate in a program that would provide them free healthcare. However, the participants were not informed that they had syphilis, nor did they receive any of the promised benefits (Today I found out, 2019). Moreover, they were not told that the researchers gave them a placebo instead of treatments or performed diagnostic procedures.
Initially, the study was supposed to last for nine months, which would allow the researchers to observe the progression of the disease. However, because this experiment’s results were promising, it lasted for forty years, meaning that the researchers observed how many of the participants contracted the diseases, developed complications, and even died. The study began in 1932 and ended in 1942, with no treatments provided to the participants for years.
Throughout the study, the men were observed, provided with placebo treatment, and some had to undergo painful and unnecessary medical procedures. This was justified as a need of the researchers to see and report the progression of syphilis and as a fair way of treating illiterate African-Americans. The story came out to the public after a significant scientific paper reporting the findings of the experiment was published and Jim Howler from the Associated Press published a story about this experiment. The apology to the participants was offered by President Clinton, and the participants received compensation after a class-action lawsuit, which was the only reparation provided to them.
I think that deception is justifiable when no harm to the participants can be done as a result of an experiment. For example, when conducting psychological research and testing how people interact with each other in different circumstances, deception can be justified. This is because if the participants were informed of the purpose, their reactions might be different from the ones they would typically have. Medical experiments impact one’s health, however, can not be conducted with deception.
Reference
Today I found out. (2019). The appalling Tuskegee Syphilis experiment [Video]. Web.