Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment Essay

It has now been a quarter of a century, and yet the images and heartache that still evolve when the words "Tuskegee Syphilis Study" are brought up, still haunts people around the world and touches upon many professionals such as social workers, medical examiners, and so forth. Sometimes people hear about this disgusting human experiment in a highly visible way directed to the entire country as an example of what we as a country and people, in general, should not do. This occurred when the study first made national news in 1972, when President Clinton offered a formal apology, or when Hollywood actors star in a fictionalized television movie of the story. On the other hand the audience may become fainter: kept alive only by memories and stories told in the African American community, in queries that circulate over the world wide web and radio talk shows, or even in courses such as this one being taught by social workers, historians, sociologists, or bioethicists. This is neither the first nor the last unethical human experiment done under the human study for the medical purposes umbrella, basically stating it is ok to sacrifice a few people in the name of medical research.

“Prior to the twentieth century, research ethics

This is known as the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which governs research ethics in studies involving human subjects in order to ensure no ethical violations would occur and the patients were protected. Unfortunately it took these 600 African-American men and their families to help create a review board in order to make sure patients rights in biological experiments such as this one are reviewed to confirm patient’s rights and ethical principals are being followed throughout human