The Tuskegee Syphilis Studies

Running Head : TUSKEGEE STUDY

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Introduction

Last January 16 , 2004 , Ernest Hendon died at the age of 96 . He was the last person among the 600 men who were treated as guinea pigs ' for a study conducted by the Federal Public Health service . This research 's primary purpose is to find out the effects of untreated syphilis to a group of Macon Country Black men . Unfortunately , these men were not aware that they had syphilis and that they are subjects in a study . Upon

br realizing that their human rights were violated and with the help of attorney Fred Grey , they d a lawsuit against the doctors involved in the study . As a result , the government paid each of the victim and their families a sum amounting to 10 million dollars and free medical assistance . In addition to this , former President Bill Clinton delivered a public apology to the victims aired by special live satellite feed to Tuskegee which Mr . Hendon was able to watch (NYTimes 2004

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study lasted for 40 years , from 1932-1972 . It was conducted near the Tuskegee Institute Macon County Alabama and was an undisclosed experiment . Its target is to know the extent of which a person can live with syphilis . However in 1972 , when this story was exposed by the media , many reacted and became angry because people believed that such research violated ethical and human rights . This is because the subjects for the study were mostly farmers who did not have formal schooling . of them knew they had syphilis . Certain requirements were also imposed before one as accepted as a subject . The qualified person should be young and was not treated with the disease before the study was made . In exchange of such participation , they are given free medical checkups for other health concerns , food during times they visited the doctors ' clinics and funeral expenses in case a patient dies (BBC 2007

In the medical history , the Tuskegee Syphilis Study is considered the longest research done wherein human beings are directly used . It is also one of the most terrible studies which violated moral rules . This is why the government started to create different laws that will look and impose proper penalties if similar studies will be done in the future

Historical Background

In 1928 , many thought of ways on how to improve the health conditions of African Americans living the southern area . This was the year when the US Public Health Service (PHS ) accomplished a study involving black employees of the Delta Pine and Land Company of Mississippi . Their report showed that 25 out of the 2000 subjects have syphilis . To help these people , a medical director from Julius Rosenwald Fund , which is a charity organization based in Chicago , coordinated with PHS and conducted medical aids for their treatment . Because of positive results , the program went across many other provinces in the South such as the Albemarle (Virginia , Glynn (Georgia , Macon (Alabama , Pitt (North...