The Tuskegee experimental study, which was carried out for a total of forty years from 1932 to 1972, remains one of the biggest and indeed one of the most disgusting scandals in the history of American medicine. More than 400 black men died in Alabama as public officials and doctors watched (Brandt, 1978). The Tuskegee scandal was a scientific experiment which was done using unethical ways and methods that in the end did not result in the production of new information on syphilis. The cure of the subjects who participated in the study was withheld without their knowledge, and consequently, many people died while others were left with permanent disabilities. Newborns were not spared either, and many of them were infected with congenital syphilis.
The main discussion point of the essay points out to the unethical directives and practices taken by the US Public Health Service in carrying out a “scientific” experiment using black men as the main objects. The experiment created an uproar among black people whose compatriots who were used as subjects in the study either lost their lives, became permanently disabled, and others became insane. The whole scandal brought forward issues of racism and medical opinions on race (Brandt, 1978). The Tuskegee study aimed to prove a scientific thought about race and hereditary. The point of interest was primarily on the sexual nature of the blacks. According to the American Medical Association journal, white doctors believed that the Negros from the southern states had an excessive sexual desire that threatened the white society, and in that case, the doctors gave out the reports indicating that blacks lacked morality.
The subjects of the experiment were sent away without treatment, and some attributed this to the unfavorable impression the whites had on the blacks (Brandt, 1978). The Tuskegee study was termed unethical since it led to death of many blacks with those who survived showing late complications that would ultimately lead to death. However, a replicate of this study is very unlikely because of the consequences that were experienced. In addition, such as study is unlikely to happen again because the World Health Organization (WHO) has presently banned all experiments that involve human beings as subjects.
References
Brandt, A. M. (1978). Racism and research: the case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Hastings Center Report, 8(6), 21-29.
