Today in my Scientific Integrity classed we discussed the ethics behind human experimentation. I thought it was interesting that we happened to talk about this on Halloween so I decided to share a specific topic, the Tuskegee Experiment.
In 1972 a clinical study was conducted in Tuskegee, Albama, concerning the disease syphilis. The study was done on African American sharecroppers to examine the effects of syphilis on different ethnicities. For their participation these sharecroppers were assured a free treatment of mercury, which was of course was toxic but was the only available treatment for syphilis at the time.
By 1947, penecilin became the non-toxic treetment for syphilis. Knowing this fact, the scientists of the study still decided to press on with the toxic mercury as a treatment. They even went as far as preventing local hospitals from treating the sharecroppers with penecilin, arguing that an alternative treetment would ruin all their previous data and study.
This study was finally terminated in 1972 not by ethical or moral consideration but by a leak to the press.
Well, that's my scary story for the evening. Happy Halloween.
Disclaimer: I have nothing against Doctors and admire the work they have to go through to become clinicians. In fact my girlfriend is a medical student and I believe she is going to be a great doctor because she is ethically sound. I just don't approve of the character of some medical students and find the thought of them handling people's lives in the future to be rather disturbing.
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