Discussion
Bad Blood: A Case Study of the Tuskegee Syphilis Project.
Photo by Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Public Health Service. Health Services and Mental Health Administration. Center for Disease Control. Venereal Disease Branch (1970 - 1973). [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Congratulations on reaching the 75% completion point in this course! We will spend this forum talking a little bit about what is next for your degree as well as a case study about the the Tuskegee Syphilis Project. The ethics of human experimentation are explored in this infamous case. In studies performed at the Tuskegee Institute from the 1930s to the 1960s and sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, 399 African American men with syphilis were recruited for a research study on the progression of the disease when left untreated. The case examines the science underlying the experiment as well as the ethical and racial issues.
Background Resources:
Syphylis CDC page
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment CDC page
Video:
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment & Medical Ethics
Read through the attached case study and answer the questions posed below.Write your post in a narrative format based on your answers. Original posts are due by Wednesday. Replies to 2 original posts with questions are due by Sunday of week 1. Answers to questions asked about your post are due by Sunday of week 2. These forums require to ask and answer questions in a timely manner.
1) What degree are you working toward? What is your progress in accomplishing your education goals and what courses are you starting next?
2)When you examine the paper and the appendix, what information appears to have been gained from this study? That is, what kind of argument can be made for the benefits of the study?
2) What do you believe were the motives for the people to become involved in the study, specifically: The subjects? The PHS personnel? The Tuskegee staff? The Macon County physicians? Nurse Rivers?
3) What were the factors underlying the cessation of the project?
4) Could this project (or one similar to it involving AIDS or radiation effects) be conducted today? Why or why not? If it could happen who would be most at risk to be used as subjects?
**Make sure you edit and proofread before posting. Once your forum is posted you will not be able to edit or delete the post.**
Additional reading :
Annas, G. and M. Grodin eds. 1992. The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Barber, B. 1976. The Ethics of Experiment with Human Subjects.