ipl-logo

The Tuskegee Study: Autonomy And Truthfulness

824 Words4 Pages

From 1932-1972, the Tuskegee Study was performed on vulnerable African-American men in Macon County, Alabama. The study, sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, was created to learn about the natural ways of syphilis. Syphilis was a disease that was growing at an alarming rate. Researchers longed to understand and treat syphilis. The Tuskegee Study was put into place to find out how the disease progressed. At the time, the question of how syphilis progresses seemed legitimate, but the cruel reality of the study was not revealed until 1972. This study was unethical because it violated at least two of the main principles of bioethics: autonomy and truthfulness. The argument given in this paper uses the modus ponens and deontological …show more content…

This is a principle that reflects philosophers such as John Stuart Mill agreed that patients have the right to make an informed decision about their medical treatment. In other words, patients have the right to deny or accept treatment. The principle of autonomy refuses to believe in paternalism or the idea that the doctor should make the decisions. The Tuskegee Study violated this principle because the patients were never had the option of an educated consent and the doctors did what they thought was “best” for the men. The men treated and involved in the study were never given the right to deny or accept the treatment. In fact, all the African-American men were told was that they had contaminated blood and needed treatment. The doctors made all the decisions. Other key facts that was not told to the men were simply what syphilis was and did not know that they were participating in a government …show more content…

Truthfulness is a universal principle that was extremely violated during the Tuskegee study. The principle of truthfulness is one that states that when someone is entitled to facts, it should be told to them to allow them to be educated about what the person is going through. Truth should not be kept away from the patient. Philosopher Immanuel Kant's views can be seen through this principle due to his stance on manipulation. By withholding the truth, a person has the risks of being manipulated into doing a task that they normally would not do. The Tuskegee Study violated this principle in two ways. First, the researchers in the study did not tell the men about the dangers of the treatment, to the sexual partners and the children. The doctors never told the men that spinal taps can be harmful or that syphilis could ever be transferred through sexual intercourse and to children. By withholding these key facts, the researchers were putting these men and their families into danger. Second, the doctors never informed the patients of the treatment that could cure them of syphilis. In 1947, penicillin became the primary treatment for syphilis. The doctors never told of the men of this treatment and never made it available to

Show More
Related
1631 Words | 7 Pages

This experiment, conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service, was intent to study the natural progression of syphilis in African American male population. The study participants voluntarily participated in the study but the researchers did not properly inform the participants on the availability of treatment or the risks of the disease if untreated. To make the matter worse, the participants were deliberately led to believe that they were receiving treatment from the Public Health Service for free, while the actual treatment was being withheld to achieve the purpose of the research. In today’s point of view, it is surprising that even the federal agency did not respect the dignity of human rights for the sake of research. In Henrietta’s era, even the federal agency did not follow the proper informed consent procedure, and a prestigious institution like John’s Hopkins did not have any regulations or office such as Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to govern their research protocols to protect human subjects and their rights.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

Nor did the black families exposed to lead. Scientist to know what they know today has benefited millions and their legacies are passed on as break-throughs in

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

In the book “The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca Skloot identifies a part of the book that talks about a patient’s consent to certain treatments at the Hospital. She specifically talks about how Henrietta was given an informed consent form, which she signed before she was given treatment; However, health consent forms could be argued back and forth in relation to how they worked back then, because with or without them Doctors still experimented on patients without their consents compared to these enlightened days where patients are in complete control of knowing what the doctor does with their bodies. Like Deborah said and if you want to go into history don’t go into it with a premeditated judgment like hate, one just has to understand that it wasn’t the fault of the people but the naivety of those times. A true case of patients where patients were left in the dark about a treatment was the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment where patients were just given a vague explanation to what they were

Read More
1705 Words | 7 Pages

The attitudes towards blacks was very different in the 1950’s in the everyday life and every aspect of life to be realistic. Skloot states “But today when people talk about history of Hopkin's relationship with the black community, the story many of them hold up as the worst offense is that of Henrietta Lacks-- a black woman whose body, they say, was exploited by white scientists” (168). Hospitals were segregated but luckily John Hopkins Hospital. In the research world, blacks were used as guinea pigs for research studies. A prominent example of blacks being taken advantage of for medical research was the Tuskegee syphilis study in which Skloot describes:

Read More
686 Words | 3 Pages

In contrast, some proponents of the PHS decision may argue that the study provided valuable insights into the natural progression of syphilis and informed subsequent medical practices. They contend that the lengthy nature of the study provided a unique opportunity to observe the disease’s evolution over time, including its various stages, which may not have been possible by other means. However, while acknowledging these potential contributions, it is essential to recognize that the purported benefits of the Tuskegee Study must be weighed against its profound shortcomings and the harm inflicted upon its participants. The knowledge gained from the study could arguably have been obtained through ethically sound research methods that prioritize the well-being of participants. The ends cannot justify the means when the means involve the violation of ethical principles and the promotion of harm and injustice.

Read More
1416 Words | 6 Pages

In Tuskegee, Alabama a group of men were chosen for an experiment involving the observation of how syphilis occurs in black men and its long term non-treated consequences. At the time of the experiment, the only treatment that was available was a heavy metal therapy; however, the scientists believed it was doing more harm than good. Therefore, they did not inform the men about the treatment and distracted them with basic incentives like hot meals and transportation. When penicillin, a cure for syphilis, was discovered the doctors made the decision to shield the cure away from the men. This is proof that scientists are

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

In the beginning of the film both doctors represented stated how syphilis was increasing among African Americans across the country and how treatment for this disease was needed. In 1932 there was no full proof treatment that worked to cure syphilis instead there were methods used such as mercury rubs to help assist with the effects of syphilis. One of the reasons attentions was being placed on syphilis was because there was a great concern that the

Read More
1511 Words | 7 Pages

This violated every aspect of the first principle due to the misleading material and that participants were not given the opportunity to voluntarily participate. The next principle of the Nuremberg Code is that the study will derive procurable results that will yield some type of benefit to society. This means that the study will result in productive results and cannot be produced by any other method of study. The Tuskegee Syphilis experiment was designed to study the long term effects of Syphilis without treatment, knowing this and the lack of informed consent, the methodology of the study was unethical (CDC, 2023). The design of the experiment was to follow the long term progression but never rendered beneficial results and failed to prioritize participants well-being throughout the study.

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

In the case of Henrietta Lacks and her family, the mistreatment of doctors and lack of informed consent defined nearly 60 years of the family’s history. Henrietta Lacks and her children had little to no information about serious medical procedures and the use of Henrietta’s cells in research. Henrietta’s cells launched a multibillion-dollar industry without her consent and doctors even took advantage of her children’s lack of education to continue their research without questions: “[Doctor] did not explain why he was having someone draw blood from Deborah… he wrote a phone number and told her to use it for making more appointments to give more blood” (188). Deborah did not have the knowledge to understand the demands or requests the doctors made of her, and the doctors did not inform her explicitly.

Read More
546 Words | 3 Pages

The Tuskegee study of Untreated Syphilis began in 1932, mainly designed to determine the history of untreated latent syphilis on 600 African American men in Tuskegee, Alabama. 201 out of 600 men were non-syphilitic just unknowingly involved in the study as a control group This study is known to be “the most infamous biomedical research study in the U.S history”. Most of these men had never visited a doctor and they had no idea what illness they had. All of the men agreed to be a participant thinking they were being treated for “bad blood” and plus they were given free medical care and meals.

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

It has now been a quarter of a century, and yet the images and heartache that still evolve when the words "Tuskegee Syphilis Study" are brought up, still haunts people around the world and touches upon many professionals such as social workers, medical examiners, and so forth. Sometimes people hear about this disgusting human experiment in a highly visible way directed to the entire country as an example of what we as a country and people, in general, should not do. This occurred when the study first made national news in 1972, when President Clinton offered a formal apology, or when Hollywood actors star in a fictionalized television movie of the story. On the other hand the audience may become fainter: kept alive only by memories and stories told in the African American community, in queries that circulate over the world wide web and radio talk shows, or even in courses such as this one being taught by social workers, historians, sociologists, or bioethicists. This is neither the first nor the last unethical human experiment done under the human study for the medical purposes umbrella, basically stating it is ok to sacrifice a few people in the name of medical research.

Read More
273 Words | 2 Pages

This was due to the misconception that that blacks did not feel the same pain as whites (Ward, Tom. " Author recounts history of medical racism”). Along with all the pain and lives sacrificed, many studies and experiments yielded no

Read More
1469 Words | 6 Pages

However, the physicians did not reveal the actual purpose of the study. Consequently, penicillin was the most effective medication, but the doctors decided to withhold treatment (Bozeman, Hirsch, & Slade ,

Read More
1342 Words | 6 Pages

The men were not informed how the disease is spread from one individual to another. While the men were easily persuaded because they were not well educated, they were also willing to join because fifty dollars would be given to each man. During this time many African American men suffered financially; racism and segregation were still very common during this time frame. Miss Evers and Dr. Brodus were taking part in an unethical act when they took advantage of the men in terms of their lack of knowledge and money. Miss Evers and the Doctor knew very well that the men were uneducated and poor, so they used these two factors to gain their own personal gain.

Read More
1121 Words | 5 Pages

The four core ethical principles that are called into question in the movie “Miss Evers’ Boys” are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Autonomy refers to the right of the patient to function independently and the ability to self-direct. This means that patients are entitled to decide what will happen to them, and if deemed competent, they have the right to either consent to or refuse treatment. All nurses and healthcare personal would be required to respect the patient’s wishes, even if they do not agree with them. Beneficence is the core principle that refers to the act of ‘doing good’ and advocating for the patient.

Read More

More about The Tuskegee Study: Autonomy And Truthfulness

Open Document