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THE TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS EXPERIMENT 
In 1930, the American government began an experiment to test the effects and treatment of syphilis in six southern, predominantly black counties. The reason given at the time, was that it was believed that blacks reacted differently to the disease than whites.
Two years later, at the height of the Depression, the funding ran out. The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) decided to carry on with the study, but in a scaled-back format. In 1932, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment began, it would continue for 40 years. The reason why Macon County was chosen was explained by The Health Service's Taliford Clark in a report, "Macon County, is a natural laboratory; a ready-made situation. The rather low intelligence of the Negro population, depressed economic conditions, and the common promiscuous sex relations not only contribute to the spread of syphilis but the prevailing indifference with regard to treatment." The promise of free medicine for the treatment of "Bad Blood" brought 600 subjects into the study, 399 were suffering from syphilis and the remaining 201 were a control group. None of the participants were ever told that they had the disease, nor were they ever told that an experiment was taking place. The subjects of the experiment had treatment for syphilis deliberately withheld from them. During World War II, they were kept out of the draft by the PHS, because joining the army would have meant a blood test and treatment for the disease if it had been discovered. The subjects were kept out of national programs that would have led to a cure. Even when it was discovered that penicillin was a cure, treatment was not given. One man who attempted to travel to Birmingham for an injection that would have cured him, was followed and sent home by a nurse. The experiment continued until a former worker in the program "blew the whistle" to the Washington Star in 1972. Even then the Public Health Service remained unrepentant. The result of the study contributed nothing to the understanding or treatment of syphilis. However, syphilis led directly to the deaths of 28 of the participants, a further 100 died of related complications, 40 spouses were infected and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis. A class action suit was won against the PHS in 1974 which resulted in an out of court settlement of $10 million. It was also ordered that the surviving participants be given free health care for the remainder of their lives. Finally, on May 16, 1997, some 65 years after the start of the experiment, the eight surviving members of the study received a public apology from the American Government in a White House speech made by President Bill Clinton. If you would like to read a transcript of President Clinton's speech, please Click Here. Links To Other Internet Resources on the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: Infoplease.com - The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. Online NewsHour - Tuskegee Experiment and Apology. The Troubling Legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. NPR : Remembering the Tuskeegee Experiment. Internet Resources on the Tuskeegee Study. SIGN UP TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER If you would like us to keep you updated with changes and improvements to thatsalabama.com, please enter your email address here: If you would like to support thatsalabama.com with a donation via paypal, please click on this button: |
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