Thursday, September 2, 2010
The point of it all
The experiment in the beginning wasn't very unethical, granted the race specification and the lack of information is twisted. However the research had the possibility of advancing medical science if the findings were conclusive. The study was done at a time when there was very little understanding of medical sciences and therefore the experiment was not unethical, as sometimes a shot in the dark leads to findings. The Tuskegee study became a travesty when penicillin was discovered. The men involved were uninformed that they could be saved and basically the scientists were killing all of these men without reason. If syphilis could be treated then what was the reason to continue studying it? The disease would be obsolete at this point and therefore the experiment should have been stopped and the men should have been treated. The fact that they were not treated demonstrates either the reckless scientific mindset or the extreme racism of the scientists. The manner in which the survivors were treated was very appropriate as they along with their families deserved to be compensated for the horrible mistreatment, perhaps even a greater deal of compensation is due.
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Connor, I think you bring up an argument that is still being debated today; should human experimentation be considered ethical (if the experiment is thought to possibly be leading to conclusive findings)? I agree with you that, because ethics were not clearly defined at the time and place where research and experimentation were conducted- especially ethics regarding the black population- we can not necessarily punitize these scientists solely, as they were not alone in their beliefs that these black men were not as equally human as whites. As for your question of the scientists' reason to continue studying syphillis after a cure had been found, I believe that it was their goal for the experiment had changed. Now, instead of wanting to find a cure for syphillis, they were looking at how the body responds to syphillis, and how the body eventually dies from it. I think they were able to conduct this without any sign of moral or ethical dilemmas because they did believe that these men were not 'men' but less than they were. This animalistic view of African Americans was what enabled them to continue their research, as many other people at the time (and location) shared the same views. In my opinion, it is that their extreme racism caused them to have such a reckless scientific mindset (rather than one or the other).
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