The Tuskegee Study: The Belmont Report

Presently, experiments that utilize human study subjects possess many ethical concerns such as the respect for person, beneficence and justice for the participants of these experiments and studies. During the relative recent past of the last century (20th century), the medical community recognized the need to conduct human study. However experiments conducted on human subjects from marginalized groups of vulnerable people were done with little or no consideration for the rights of these people. In fact there were few or no laws that protected them from this form of exploitation and there seemed to be no desire in the medical community or elsewhere to make these practices illegal. One of these events is the historical Tuskegee Syphilis study
The principle includes respect for person, beneficence and justice. Those principles are not absolute and do not obey any hierarchical arrangement, but are valid prima facie. Principle of respect for person ensures the right of the individual to have their own views makes choices and takes action. Secondly, the principle of beneficence can be defined as the minimization of harm and maximization of benefits. Lastly, the principle of justice means fair treatment for those involve in the research and protection of their privacy. In the Tuskegee Syphilis study, the principles of respect to person, beneficence and justice were not present or available to these men. These men were denied information that would empower them to make decisions that would benefit them. The true nature and intent of the study was kept hidden from them. They were coerced to participate in the study by pledge of superior medical treatment for other illnesses. To make matter worst, the condition of poverty and illiteracy rendered then vulnerable. This vulnerability was exploited the nurse to maintain their participation in the study as she “Honestly, those people got all kinds of examinations and medical care that they never would have gotten. I’ve taken them over to the hospital and they’d have a GI series on them, the heart, the lung, just everything. It
A nurse’s role is to promote, advocate for, and strive to protect the health, safety, and the rights of the patient. (American Nursing Association, 2011) Her commitment is solely the patient regardless of social and economic standing, race or religious practice. (American Nursing Association, 2011) Patients often rely on nurses to be truthful because they care for them at a vulnerable time in their lives are often the liaison between the doctor and patients. However, Eunice Rivers, the nurse and study coordinator, did the opposite of what the role of the nurse should be. She knew from the beginning that the sole purpose of the study was to determine the effects of Syphilis on males of color when left untreated. However, she chose not to reveal the true intention of the study. She allowed of herself to be used as tool to gain the trust of the study subjects by luring them with promises of free medical care, food, transportation, finance for burial expense and a stipend. As a result the men trusted Nurse Rivers particularly because she was also a person of color and at that period, blacks were skeptical of white medical doctors. Nurse Rivers, abused the trust of these vulnerable men by withholding information that would have allowed them to make informed decision about their care. She never advocated for these men and r to admit