Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment Unethical

Words: 471
Pages: 2

The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment is unethical due to the lack of, awareness, consent, and treatment. The original experiment was called, “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.”(Tuskegee University, 2024) The study started in 1932 and it intended to document the history of syphilis in African American men. At that time, there was no proven treatment, and the researchers told them they were getting treated for “bad blood”, a slang term used locally to describe ailments, like fatigue, anemia, and syphilis. What it Was Designed to Find Out: The experiment consisted of 600 men, in this group only 399 had syphilis, and 201 didn’t. pg. (Who Were the Participants, pg.1) The researchers enticed the men with, medical care, survivors insurance, medical exams, minor ailments, and guaranteed provisions for their death burial stipends paid to their survivors. (What the Men Received In Exchange For Participation, pg.1) When the study began no treatment for syphilis was proven, but penicillin became the standard treatment for syphilis in 1947. However, the medicine was retained from the patients and was withheld from them. (Treatment Withheld, pg.1) This experiment was unethical, although the men agreed to be freely examined and treated.