...The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections 75 The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections Adebayo A. Ogungbure Department of Philosophy University of Ibadan, Nigeria philosopher.bayo@yahoo.com Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK) New Series, Vol.3 No.2, December 2011, pp.75-92 thoughtandpractice@gmail.com http://ajol.info/index.php/tp/index Abstract There are established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the “Tuskegee Study” in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values. Key Words Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, morality Introduction From time to time human beings experience health challenges, whether physical or mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand, non-therapeutic...
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...Ethical Research Research ethics not only protect the rights of human subjects but also encompass a broader range of principles. The notorious Tuskegee study in Alabama that began in 1932and ended in1972 studied black men with syphilis. The study violated ethical principles in that informed consent was not obtained, confidentiality was violated and treatment was withheld when it became available. The study is well known, because of the tragedy it caused for many people and also because of the sheer lack of ethical consideration shown by the scientists concerned. The United States Public Health Service conducted a study for that began in 1932 and lasted until 1972, not the six months that was expected and is described as "the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history" (Brunner, 2009). The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was conducted from 1932 to 1972 around Tuskegee, Alabama. Six hundred poor, and mostly illiterate, African-American males, 400 of whom were infected with syphilis, were monitored for 40 years. Free medical examinations were given; however, subjects were not told about their diagnosis. Even though a cure (penicillin) became available in the 1950s, the study continued until 1972 with participants being denied proper treatment or given fake treatments and placebos, instead. In some cases, when subjects were diagnosed as having syphilis by other physicians, researchers intervened to prevent treatment. Many of the subjects died slow and painful...
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...The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections 75 The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections Adebayo A. Ogungbure Department of Philosophy University of Ibadan, Nigeria philosopher.bayo@yahoo.com Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK) New Series, Vol.3 No.2, December 2011, pp.75-92 thoughtandpractice@gmail.com http://ajol.info/index.php/tp/index Abstract There are established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the “Tuskegee Study” in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values. Key Words Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, morality Introduction From time to time human beings experience health challenges, whether physical or mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand...
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...consent in the case of the Tuskegee Study? If such informed consent had been obtained from the subjects, would this remove all questions about whether the study was ethical? Informed consent to participate in the Tuskegee Study would require ensuring that the participants fully understood the purpose, nature, and potential risks and benefits of the study before giving their voluntary consent to participate. This would have included disclosing that the study aimed to observe the natural progression of syphilis without providing treatment, as well as explaining the potential...
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...therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand, non-therapeutic research is aimed at 76 Adebayo A. Ogungbure furthering the frontiers of knowledge about human health. Furthermore, researchers and physicians often use human beings as objects of scientific investigation, raising certain ethical concerns, including the issue of informed consent and how consent is obtained, selection of participants in research, the welfare of human subjects involved in a research project, what the goals of research ought to be, and what ought to constitute proper procedure for an ethical research. These issues are central to an aspect of applied ethics which is now commonly referred to as research ethics. The aim of research ethics is to ensure that research projects involving human subjects are carried out without causing harm to the subjects involved. In addition, it provides a sort of regulatory framework which ensures that human participants in research are not exploited either physically or psychologically. The need for ethical guidelines for biomedical research is expressed in some of the questions research ethicists are concerned about, including the following: • What are appropriate clinical endpoints that should trigger the termination of a trial? • Are placebo controls defensible in trials with terminally ill patients? • Can there be such a thing as true clinical equipoise? • Is it acceptable to...
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...Tuskegee Syphilis Study was a very controversial research study conducted by the United States Public Health Service in collaboration with the Tuskegee University (then known as the Tuskegee Institute) in Macon County, Alabama between the years 1932 and 1972. The study was named the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” and the original intent was to study the effects of untreated syphilis on African-American men for a duration of six to nine months and then follow-up with a treatment plan. A total of 600 African American men were enrolled in the study, 399 men with syphilis and 201 men without the infection. Syphilis is a highly contagious disease caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum transmitted sexually or congenitally...
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...Math * Sciences * Test Prep * Writing 13 What principles of the Belmont Report were violated in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study? The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was conducted from 1932 to 1972 around Tuskegee, Alabama. Six hundred poor — and mostly illiterate — African-American males, 400 of whom were infected with syphilis, were monitored for 40 years. Free medical examinations were given; however, subjects were not told about their diagnosis. Even though a cure (penicillin) became available in the 1950s, the study continued until 1972 with participants being denied proper treatment or given fake treatments and placebos, instead. In some cases, when subjects were diagnosed as having syphilis by other physicians, researchers intervened to prevent treatment. Many of the subjects died slow and painful deaths of syphilis during the study, which was stopped in 1973 by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare only after its existence was publicized and became a political embarrassment. Congressional intervention eventually led to the publication of the Belmont Report in 1979, which is now required reading for everyone involved in human subject research. The Belmont Report identifies three basic ethical principles regarding all human subject research: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. * Respect for persons requires medical researchers to obtain informed consent from their study participants, which means that participants must be given accurate...
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...Bioethics- Tuskegee Syphilis Study BACKGROUND FACTS In the early 70s, the Washington Evening Star newspaper published this headline on its front page: "Syphilis Patients Died Untreated." (CDC) This headline revealed one of America's most dishonorable medical studies, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. From this very moment, the public knew the long-hidden truth about this notorious study. In 1932, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) initiated the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Their goal was to investigate stages in advancement of syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease caused by bacterium that may cause death if untreated. (CDC) Furthermore, the study wanted to investigate how syphilis affects blacks compared to whites. They hypothesized that whites experienced more neurological complications while blacks experience more cardiovascular complications. The study used 399 poor black sharecroppers from Macon County, Alabama with dormant syphilis. An additional 201 healthy, unaffected men that were part of the study served as control subjects. Many bioethical values were largely violated. The physicians conducting the study misled the men from the beginning of the experiment. They purposely told men that they had “bad blood” and that they would treat them. Instead, these men were given a placebo. Physicians made sure that they did not receive treatment or help from anyone else. The reward for this “therapy” was free meals, free medical examinations and free burial insurance...
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...The Tuskegee syphilis study is an experiment conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service, to study the natural history of untreated syphilis. The purpose of study was to establish the treatment programs by investigating the effects of untreated disease. The selected 600 research participants with syphilis disease and non- diseased were selected. They were given free medical care, meals, and free burial insurance. However, the study was conducted without the benefit of patients’ informed consent. The researchers convinced local physicians not to treat the participants and not giving penicillin unless it was asked by participants. More than hundreds of people were died from this study. As for these reasons, the Assistant Secretary for Health...
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...: In 1932 U.S. public health services started another study in the Macon County. The goal study was to examine the development of untreated syphilis specifically among African-Americans. The title of the study was, “The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” (Pritchard, 2014). This was obviously a racial act against the African American. Subjects of this study chose only the poor Black people in the Macon County and excluded all the white people even though white population also had syphilis. This is an example of racism. “Public health consultant Dr. Moore proposed that Syphylis in Negro is in many respects a different disease form syphilis in white” (Pritchard, 2014). This is an example of racism. Human right of the Black...
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...In 1932 the federal government commenced a medical study called The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Blacks with Syphilis in Macon County, Alabama. Four hundred and twelve men infected with the disease were selected for the study that faked long term treatment while really only giving placebos and liniments. The goal of this study was to determine if blacks reacted similar to the whites to the effects of the syphilis disease. After forty years it was discontinued and the Senate initiated an investigation of the study. At the time of the investigation, only one hundred and twenty-seven of the study’s original participants were still alive and had not died from the disease (Morehan, 2007). In the film, the story is told from the view point of Nurse Eunice Evers, one key character in the movie, who played the role of the real- life nurse who was a part of the Tuskegee Study. The movie, Miss Evers’ Boys portrays “the emotional effects of one of most amoral instances of governmental experimentation on humans ever perpetrated” (Morehan, 2007). It depicts the government’s involvement in research targeting a group of African American males, as it explores the depths of human tragedy and suffering that result from unethical act. The film also unveiled the racial tension that existed in America which did not only occur in the segregation of skin color but also founded upon disease (Morehan, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the film in order to critically examine bioethical issues...
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...The Tuskegee Study is known as the most infamous and the longest nontherapeutic experiment performed on humans in the history of medicine and public health .The U.S. Public Health Service it conducted between 1932 and 1972 to study the normal progression of untreated syphilis. The study was performed in Macon County, Alabama, where 400 African-American men with active syphilis and 200 uninfected men as controls were incorporated. The subjects were not made aware about the disease, nor were they treated a drug penicillin which was already validated and was known as effective cure for the disease by 1950. The patients were selected and allured by saying that they are being subjected to free medical treatment “bad blood” which was referred to any ailment in the native. The experiment was carried on up to 40 years and many of the untreated participants died in the due course, and autopsies were performed by doctors without permission. The study did not stop until Peter Buxtun, approached the press reporter and shared the truth about the study and its unethical methods. Fred Gray, a civil rights attorney, filed a $1.8 billion class action lawsuit that resulted in a $10 million out-of-court settlement for the victims, their families, and their heirs (Gray, 1998). On May 16, 1997 President Clinton...
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...Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment Name University of Phoenix Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment The Tuskegee Syphilis experiment was a 40 years study from 1932 to 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama. The experiment was conducted on a group of 399 impoverished and illiterate African American sharecroppers. This disease was not; however revealed to them by the US Government. They were told they were going to receive treatment for bad blood. The study proved to be one of the most horrendous studies carried out that disregarded the basic ethical principles of conduct. It symbolized medical and disregard for human life. Standard medical treatment at the time were toxic, dangerous and, often time questionable in respect to effect. Some of the studies were being addressed to determine if a patient was better off not being treated at all. Researchers also tried to prolong any treatment to study the different stages of syphilis so they may be able to find a more suitable means of treatment. Medical ethics during this time did not have standard for informing patients. Information often withheld regarding their condition so patients often went through testing and treatment with little knowledge of consequences. By experiencing the study the participants were kept in the dark about the disease so they would co-operation. During this time these men were considered subjects, not patients. They were not considered patients, but clinical material instead of sick people. Most of the experiments...
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...doctors and scientists on concentration camp prisoners during World War II, and the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) study titled "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male" (Tuskegee Study). These abuses led to the creation of codes of research ethics in Europe and the U.S. In the wake of the Second World War, the subsequent Nuremberg Trials on war crimes produced the Nuremberg Code, which outlined ten points for conducting ethical research with human subjects. Nearly two decades later, the World Medical Association (WMA) developed a code of research ethics known as the Declaration of Helsinki, published in 1964 and subsequently revised. This document is built on both the Nuremberg Code and the physician's code of ethics known as the Declaration of Geneva. In the U.S., news that researchers deceived and withheld treatment from subjects who suffered from syphilis in the Tuskegee Study led to the creation of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (National Commission or "the Commission"). The Commission was charged with establishing a code of research ethics for U.S. research involving human subjects. In 1979, the Commission issued the Belmont Report, the foundational document of the current system of U.S. human subjects protections. The Belmont Report outlines three key ethical principles for conducting research with human subjects: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. The Belmont Report, in turn...
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...When asked if Institutional Review Boards are necessary, or at least beneficial, for research teams to work with, most people will readily say yes. “For ethical standards” is the mantra for this, as indeed, there have been instances in the government research sector itself when projects, funded by federal money, violated the very principles that the nation was founded upon. Most notable of these is the Tuskegee Experiment. When the Washington Evening Star newspaper made public the existence of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in which dozens of black men were allowed to die without treatment, nearly everyone decried that there should have been an impartial board of people to oversee the experiment and, if necessary, terminate the project. Such is a prime example of how the existence of Institutional Review Boards would have helped ensure that experiments and studies seek to preserve the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and not undermine them. That being said, one can likewise understand how the presence of Institutional Review Boards can hinder and delay the research process. There is a pernicious enemy: bureaucratic red tape. Having to go through channels and procedures can hold up research and delay the oft-times crucial publication of results, or sometimes even muzzle it completely, as in the case of one researcher who was barred from using her own research despite it being privately funded. Instances like these raise some questions concerning the role of...
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