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The Tuskegee Medical Experiment

916 Words4 Pages

In 1932, government doctors conducted a medical experiment known as the Tuskegee study. It took place in Macon County, Alabama. The Public Health Service launched 6 projects in the South in predominately poor black communities. One project took place in Macon County. The doctors were determined to diagnose as many as 10,000 people. By the end of 1931 there was not enough money to continue the program and therefore the doctors left. Public Health Service officials were anxious to benefit from the abandoned program. The head of the VD division Teleford Clark had a plan. If there was not enough money for this program then perhaps there was funding for less expensive research. He proposed Macon County as the ideal site for a 6 month study of untreated …show more content…

The three principles: Do no harm, informed consent, and voluntary participation were all extremely violated in this experiment. The reason these men participated in this study was only because they were promised by government officials free treatment for syphilis. These men were never informed about the real purpose of the study and they were never told about the dangers they were going to face. They were in many ways taken advantage of. According to the original proposal, the Tuskegee study was to be finished at the end of 6 months. The government doctors became fascinated with their data. They saw indications that black people suffered the same complications from syphilis as white people. That was an exciting discovery for them because it contradicted the theories that were rumored about. This led them to continue their experiment. On each subject they performed physicals and blood tests. To maintain the appearance that they were being “treated” the doctors gave the men placebos: vitamins, aspirins, and tonics. This was all useless against syphilis. There was also one more test that they wanted which was a purely diagnostic spinal …show more content…

It said that this was their last chance to get a second examination and after it was finished they would be given a special treatment if it was believed they were in a condition to withstand it. These men thought that the spinal taps were a treatment when they actually were

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