In this seminal volume written by James H. Jones, a passionate summary of decades of ethical issues associated with human experimentation and study by the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) is presented. Jones doesn’t hesitate to reveal his opinions regarding these points, and uses a primarily retro-ethical stance when discussing the events of the Tuskegee Study. Though it is understandable that his strong attitude throughout the book could be considered too biased, or even unfair, Jones scrupulously backs up his strong statements with a plethora of citations including everything from personal interviews with those involved to actual medical literature. In spite of his obvious one-sidedness on the topic, “Bad Blood” still allows the …show more content…
Within the first 20 pages, the reader is succinctly lead to the understanding that there was most definitely a breach of ethical requirements in this experiment, and by the end of the book the reader is left pondering just how something like this could have been allowed to go on for so many years. Beginning in 1932, in the midst of the Depression and ongoing racial tensions, there was an assumption made: perhaps syphilis affects black men differently than white men. In order to study this, around 300 black men who were diagnosed with syphilis were recruited by the PHS for ongoing observation and analysis. In order to ensure their stock of subjects remained infected with the disease, and therefore usable study subjects, they were withheld from the truth of their participation by being told nothing more than that they had “bad blood”. They were never actually treated for the condition, and were lied to about this fact. Jones efficiently demonstrates that due to the economical challenges posed at the time, the black men involved were more than eager to participate because of the supplemental incentives attached to being a test subject; there were perks to being a lab-rat. The subjects received medical exams, transportation, full meals, healthcare for common issues, and even a small burial allotment