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Summary
The Tuskegee Experiment was a scientific research study conducted on 399 black men between 1932 and 1972. Starting in 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service started an experiment with a vaguely defined mission. Taking mostly illiterate and poor black men from a rural southern area, they offered the prospect of free medical care and described the medical attention as an effort to cure “bad blood”, when in fact all 399 participants were suffering from tertiary syphilis. None of the participants were ever told that they carried the disease nor were they offered any form of treatment, because to disclose that they were part of a study would undoubtedly deter their interest. The deceptive nature of the project and the vulnerability of the target population would ensure that the research was successfully completed without drawing attention to the ethic impropriety, until the end of the project in 1972 when the media caught wind and these inhumane acts were brought to light.
Ethical Concerns
The Tuskegee Experiment was an ethical disaster from day one, and violations of current ethical guidelines, as set forth by the APA and the ACA were neglected with further intent as the study progressed. Ethical guidelines of the APA and ACA are set forth to ensure client welfare through informed consent, avoiding harm, abandonment and neglect, respecting the rights of clients, referring them to the proper services upon termination or intervention, protecting their privacy, and properly handling complaints. This is only a broad overview of the scope and complexity of ethical standards between professionals and clients in the social science field, however this case study will identify three major ethical violations that took place during the Tuskegee Study.
Informed Consent. Whenever any research is conducted, it is the responsibility of the professional to get consent from the subject of that research. This consent has to be clearly understand by the participant, and in the case of the Tuskegee Study, the socioeconomic status of the participants was greatly exploited. From the beginning of the research, participants were not aware of their involvement in any research, were lied to about the nature of their “medical care”, and were coerced into signing consent forms for autopsies and other procedures without their comprehension. Besides their vulnerability as a group with no access to medical care, most of the participants were not literate.
Avoiding Harm. Not only was this research conducted without informed consent or knowledge of the participants, but necessary and available medical treatments were purposely withheld in order to fulfil the motives of the U.S. Public Health Service. Penicillin was available and considered the standard of care for patients suffering from syphilis at the time, however the participants were denied penicillin ; a clear case of neglect through inaction.
Protecting Client Rights. The rights of the research participants were clearly violated, from the deceptive nature of the study, due to purposeful and misinformed negligence, to the withholding of beneficial medication, as well as the exploitation of such a vulnerable population. There were no rights afforded from the beginning of the experiment, therefore the rights of the participants were not recognized, respected, or protected.
Conclusion
The participants of the study were poor black men experiencing symptoms homogenous with those of patients in their late stages of syphilis. It should be noted that the U.S. Government, particularly the U.S. Public Health Service, was responsible for carrying out this research and that the participants of these studies were never informed of their diagnoses, nor offered any treatment therefore they were uninformed of their inevitable death and subjected to painful procedures without their prior knowledge. In hindsight, it may be argued that this research is responsible for the promotion of social change and establishment of enforced ethical standards , however it has also led to devastating insecurities between the minority community and the U.S. Government, largely due to the unethical and inhumane treatment of an obviously vulnerable population during the time.
References
American Counseling Association. (2014). Ethics and Professional Standards. Retrieved from American Counseling Association: http://www.counseling.org/
American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/
Infoplease. (n.d.). The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. Retrieved May 22, 2016, from Infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/
Rusert, B. (2009). “A Study in Nature”: The Tuskegee Experiments and the New South Plantation. Journal of Medical Humanities, 30(3), 155-171.
Walker, C. A. (2009). Lest we forget: The Tuskegee Experiment. Journal of Theory Construction & Testing., 13(1), 5-6.
