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 …show more content…
Clinton announced that the government was providing a $200,000 grant to help establish a center for bioethics in research and healthcare at Tuskegee University as a part of memorial to the victims (Thomas & Quinn, 1997). A center was created in 1999 for “bioethics in research and health care” and catered to support efforts to address its legacy and strengthen bioethics training. In 1979, they published Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the protection of Human Subjects of Research commonly referred to as “The Belmont Report “ (NCPHSBBR 1979) and Office for Human Research Protections