Overview of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study
In 1932, the southern states were experiencing a syphilis pandemic that affected poor people the most. No one cared about impoverished and black people. Worse, physicians seemed unconcerned about their concerns. The medical profession blamed poverty-related ailments on “bad blood.” Wealthy patients received excessive care. They were heard, examined, and treated. “Bad blood” was killing the poor and black people. The proposal that launched the “Tuskegee experiment” was hatched in the depths of the American bureaucracy in 1932 (Tobin, 2022).
The dubious honor of being the father of this scheme belongs to Dr. Tagliaferro Clark, the chairman of the United States Department of Public Health (Tobin, 2022). The research was a 40-year-long grand experiment performed by the United States government (Tobin, 2022). The experiment’s goal was not to heal the patients but to examine how they died. Black Alabama residents were deliberately infected with syphilis like laboratory animals. Six hundred persons were separated into two groups, one receiving a placebo and the other receiving arsenic.
Ethical Violations in the Tuskegee Study
Since it violated human rights and exacerbated prejudice, this human study was unethical. The trial, which was conducted in collaboration with Tuskegee University, guaranteed free medical and funeral fees if any patients died during the experiment. No one cared about the subjects; they were just put to a slew of blood and bone marrow draws to gather study data.
The experimental “treatment” killed several hundred individuals. Many victims did not live to see 1972 due to their terrible health (Elia, 2019). People have no idea what was causing their illness. Even after a less harmful syphilis treatment became available, the researchers refused to provide it to the Tuskegee patients. Doctors withheld critical information from them. There was no scientific gain, only lunacy, which lasted from the 1930s through the 1970s (Tuskegee University, n.d.). Everyone has the right to know about their medical condition, as well as what drugs they are being prescribed and why. Doctors and other research participants violated these rights because they did not value the lives of disadvantaged people.
It was black males who were experimentally infected with syphilis, ostensibly as part of volunteer medical research. They were not notified of their illness, instead being told they were suffering from “bad blood” or “fatigue.” The spouses of the subjects contracted syphilis, and their children were born with a congenital form of the illness. Even though standard medications were available, 600 syphilis-infected black farmers in Alabama were given placebos and arsenic (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). As a result, people were duped out of their intricate social position and race. In doing so, the experiment’s researchers emphasized racial prejudice.
Ethical Issues and Impact
Thus, scientific tests are frequently justified for sound scientific reasons – their results can occasionally profoundly shift age-old notions about a specific field of human endeavor. The Tuskegee experiment, on the other hand, is a flagrant violation of human rights that has led to the deaths of hundreds of individuals. The experiment’s scientists and physicians performed unethically by keeping patients in the dark and progressively murdering them.
When conducting research involving human participants, scientists must provide truthful information about the effects and conduct of the experiment. Participants must provide consent that confirms their awareness of the research. They should also be able to refuse any intervention that contradicts the original agreement. This will allow researchers to conduct ethical research.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). The Syphilis Study at Tuskegee Timeline. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.
Elia, J. P. (2019). Apologists’ accounts of the Tuskegee syphilis study and efforts toward historic preservation and commemoration. Contested Commemoration in US History: Diverging Public Interpretations, 149-164.
Tobin, M. J. (2022). Fiftieth anniversary of uncovering the Tuskegee syphilis study: The story and timeless lessons. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 205(10), 1145-1158. Web.
Tuskegee University. (n.d.). Web.