The Worst Part Of The Tuskegee Experiments

The Tuskegee experiments are one of many times in science where ethics, morals, and simple fair treatment of human beings were completely neglected. The worst part of the “Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments” is that they were under the advisement of The United States Government. The Public Health Service began these experiments, which did not end until many years later. These experiments conducted on black men who suffered from syphilis. The PHS was interested to see what would happen to a man with syphilis if he went untreated. Many of these black men died for the sad sake of science. The test subjects were coerced with free health care. There were no consent forms in these days. The deception that took place during these experiments was fatal
and eventually caused many deaths. The test subjects were not even told what was happening. They only knew that they were being treated for “bad blood,” a vague description that was an umbrella term for many illnesses in those days. The subject’s examinations and personal information were not confidential as in a doctor patient relationship. The tests were outright racist because only black men were used for the experiments, because black men were believed to be promiscuous.
The Tuskegee Experiments began in 1932, in Macon Alabama. The PHS had originally chosen a handful of southern states in the 1920’s, and then the stock market crashed. However, they came back to Macon because 35% of black males had syphilis. It was one of the highest rates of syphilis they had found from the previous pilot test locations. “It involved approximately four hundred black males who tested positive for the disease, as well as two hundred nonsyphilitic black males to serve as controls.” (Jones 2006) The black men who were in the experiment group were not told that they had syphilis. The physicians simply told them they were being treated for “bad blood.” The test continued even when penicillin was discovered, which is a cure for syphilis. The scientist would even use the corpses from the many who died untreated. The Tuskegee Experiments were only supposed to last a year. However, because of much scientific curiosity for a long-term analysis of the effects of untreated syphilis, the experiments continued until 1972.
The PHS coerced the black males to be “patients.” The PHS disguised the experiments as treatment for the aforementioned “bad blood.” The men could not refuse free health care at a time when these men could not afford healthcare themselves. The men willfully accepted to be “patients,” because of the false medical treatments they thought they were receiving.
After the experiments ended, consent forms became mandatory.
The reason was that many men died who could have been saved. Even when penicillin was available, the doctors neglected the men real treatment. The experimenters deceived the test subjects, by not telling them the truth of their condition in the first place. In addition, because of the lack of oversight and formal protocol, nothing was actually confidential.
The worst of all is the blatant prejudice that continued all throughout the experiments. Diversity is key to understanding anything in science. It is essential to test a wide variety of humans to understand the minute details of the human mind and body. The fact that these experiments were targeting black men, illustrates the lack of morality from the United States at the time.
In conclusion, The Tuskegee Experiments is a scar that will forever remind scientist why we uphold moral and ethical standards. It is astounding that the experiments on a few hundred black men, with untreated syphilis, could go on for so long. Because of the coercion and deception of the test subjects, consent forms were mandatory. It is sad to look back at these experiments and know that nothing was gained that could not have been known through moral means. There is not one single thread of knowledge that humans must ascertain if it means others have to
suffer.