Ethical Concerns and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment - Essay Example

Module Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment Most public health decisions are a product of the interplay between values and science. Thehealth sector is advancing with the advent of new medical discoveries and advancements. However, others are being banned from the market owing to ethical concerns. In order to remain technologically relevant, scientists are spending vast resources in medical research that sometimes involves the use of human beings. Human participation in these medical experiments is facing enormous opposition due to the failure of many past experiments. The Tuskegee experiment is the most prominent example of the conflicts between medical research and ethics. Instead of treating the participants with penicillin during the experiment, medical researchers withheld it. They ignored the ethical rules recommended for an effective research. The negative impact of the experiment affected future medical research related to venereal diseases such as needle exchange, blinded seroprevalence surveillance, and third world HIV prevention trials. History. Tuskegee is an event symbolizing racism and inequality in America instigated by racist workers from both science sector and the general society. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2009), the study was conducted in Macon County, Alabama from 1932 to 1972. It portrays the image of monstrous researchers who allowed black patients to suffer in the disguise of identifying the natural cause for syphilis. The study is the longest non-therapeutic experiment in human medical history. It involved 600 black men of which 399 exhibited signs of late syphilis. By the completion of the study in 1972, only a few of the subjects were alive. Lack of therapeutic treatment caused infection of forty participants’ wives. The participants were deceived that they are receiving the cure for infected blood in addition to other favors such as free medical care and the coverage of funeral expenses. The United States Public Health Service viewed the experiment as potentially beneficial to the health of the human kind without considering its side effects. Ethical Concerns. The experiment was established on the malicious premise that black people are promiscuous and lustful, and would not seek medication for venereal diseases. Therefore, the assumption made the experiment appear natural to the public health researchers (Brandt 23). The study did not involve informed consent among the parties involved. The participants were not well informed on the genuine purpose of the experiment. In fact, the subjects were never informed that they are being experimented upon, and on the contrary, they believed that they were receiving free medical care. They were not given the cure even though its existence was widely known. The participants were supposed to consent to an autopsy after death for them to be considered as beneficiaries of reprieve for funeral expenses. The public health researchers frustrated all the efforts of the participants of seeking alternative medical treatment (Fairchild and Bayer 919). Most participants were denied treatment in order to observe the dangers and the fatal progression of the condition. The failure to be informed on the true nature of the process implied that the participants were not aware of the inherent danger posed by the experiment. According to Brunner (2009), the experiment violated the World Health Organization’s Declaration of Helsinki of 1964 that requires the application of the informed consent when undertaking any medical research on humans. A misleading advertisement was used to seduce people to participate in the experiment. The slogan read, “Last Chance for Special Free Treatment” (Reverby 148). However, the participants were denied the promised treatment, and instead involved in a highly risky spinal tap-diagnostic. The researchers left the participants to die due to late syphilis where most of them suffered insanity, paralysis, heart disease, tumors and blindness. According to Brunner (2009), the duration of the experiment violated the Henderson Act of 1943 that calls for testing and treatment of sexually transmitted ailments. Ethical standards were further violated by the surgeon general who sent appreciation certificates to the participants after 25 years of involvement in the experiment. This blindly attracted their interest to the experiment. Lessons Learnt. The moral and ethical consequences of the experiment are far reaching. Owing to the unethical results of the experiment, many African-Americans distrust medical professionals and shun participation in medical research (Katz et al 1172). This behavior has been passed down from one generation to another. Their reaction implies that medical research or knowledge advancement should not supersede the safety and welfare of human beings regardless of their social class or race (Jones 6). Although the experiment was conducted in the historical times when the black minority groups were not viewed as equal to their white counterparts, the present society can gain insights on the mistakes committed and develop strategies necessary to mitigate the same scenario. Decisions affecting the welfare of the public require that the practitioners adhere to the set standards. Any violations carry moral obligations (Fairchild and Bayer 921). All scientific experiments should adhere to ethical considerations, involve volunteers only and offer prior awareness of detailed risks involved and fair compensation to the participants (McNeil 2). The ethical review should be established to ensure that medical researchers do not abuse ethical standards. It is difficult to understand how the doctors, under oath to do no harm, would purposely participate in such a research approach. RECOMMENDATIONS Some of the strategies that can be adopted in improving the current research experiments include ensuring effective cooperation at all levels, ensuring involvement among faith communities and workplaces, being sensitive to the local cultures and involving the indigenous care workers (Malone et al 1918). Additionally, the participants should be provided with reasonable incentives. The resources allocated for the research should be utilized for a long term. Rebuilding trust among the people should start with an apology from the high organs of research administration. CONCLUSION The Tuskegee experiment symbolizes the medical misconduct and disregard for human rights that occur in the name science experiments. The ethical abuses related to the study include deception regarding the nature of the experiment. These subjects were denied the freedom to decide on their involvement; thus being lured to participate. Secondly, the experiment entailed the exploitation of the social freedom in recruiting and retaining the participants. Lastly, the researchers thwarted any participants’ efforts to seek alternative cure after they realized that the one being provided is not effective. With regard to the experimental results, the absolute notion that scientific experiments are safe should be rejected. Proper measures should be adopted to ensure that these experiments do not compromise the wellbeing of the society. Works Cited Brandt, Allan M., “Racism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment,” in Tuskegees Truths: Rethinking the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, ed. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000), Pg. 23. Brunner, Borgna. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. April 6, 2009. Web. Sep 20, 2012. Fairchild, Amy & Ronald Bayer. Uses and Abuses of Tuskegee. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Science, New Series, Vol. 284, No. 5416 (May 7, 1999), pp. 919-921. Web. Aug 8, 2012. Jones, James Howard. Bad blood: the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. New and expanded Ed. New York: The Free Press, 1993. Print. Katz, Ralph, Lee Green, Nancy Kressin, Stephen Kegeles, Min Qi Wang, Sherman James et al. "The legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: assessing its impact on willingness to participate in biomedical studies." Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 19.4 (2008): 1168-1180. Print. Malone, Ruth, Valerie Yerger, Carol Mcgruder & Erika Froelicher. "Its like Tuskegee in reverse": a case study of ethical tensions in institutional review board review of community-based participatory research." Am J Public Health 96.11 (2006): 1914-1919. Print. McNeil, Donald G. Report Information from ProQuest: Panel Hears Grim Details Of V.D. Test On Inmates, New York Times [New York, N.Y] 31 Aug 2011: A.4.August 12, 2012. Web. Sep 20, 2012. Reverby, Susan. Examining Tuskegee: Examining the infamous syphilis study and its legacy. The University of North Carolina Press Chape Hill, 2009. Pg. 134-151. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee: The Tuskegee Timeline. April 6, 2009. Web. Sep 20. 2012. The Hastings Center. The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 8, No. 6 (1978), pp. 21-29. Web. Aug 8, 2012. Read More