Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Singling out the Racism.
One of the most startling things that I discovered was that the men who had the disease and survived through the duration of the experiment were so deeply infected with the disease that it couldn't be treated. During the test however the treatment of the subjects was somewhat ethical. They were given proper food, transportation and health care for diseases other than syphilis. Their funerals were also provided for after proper burials. The disease at the time was untreatable and therefore the provisions stated above were luxury to the uneducated and poor blacks at the time. In fact the good health provided by the scientists in all other areas than the disease probably elongated their lives. The racism and the retaining of information about the discovery of penicillin are the two ethical faults in the study. Disregarding the discovery and withholding of penicillin to the subjects, does the good treatment of the black subjects outweigh the racism of only testing the disease on African Americans? In other words, because the subjects were better taken care of then they would be at home, does that make it okay to exclude white Americans from the study?
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I feel that providing good food, transportation and health care for other issues was simply to lure the men into signing up for the program. To begin with the men were really poor, and to make this offer appear to be so attractive made it almost impossible for them to not sign up, or even suspect anything about the treatment. They felt that they were being taken care of (which was probably the orignal intent of the scientists) and this allowed them to continue the program. Eventually most died, so no amount of material wealth could really make up for that. Also, this does not make it okay to exclude the white americans from the study. I'm sure that many white americans were poor as well, and the fact that NONE were participants in the program is a sign that blacks were racially singled out and taken advantage of.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tanya that the black men were racially singled out and taken advantaged of. I think it does not make it okay to exclude white American from the study because the material benefits the all black subjects received do not outweigh the lives lost that can not be regained. The care benefits were just bribes to lure the subjects. I think it is ethically wrong to deceive any individual with a bribe regardless of how extravagant the benefits are if the result will be the loss of the life of the individual because that life can never be gained back. Even if the experiment were conducted with both black and white subjects, I still think the good treatment would not outweigh the resulting deaths of the experiment. The material items offered cannot outweigh the racism because the racism clearly exists regardless since in the end only one targeted race was harmed more than benefited because the families were left with more disadvantages of disease and losses.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gloria's comment about how 'The material items offered cannot outweigh the racism' because these families were affected not only by the one getting tests but also down the line as genes were passed onto offspring.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to how the men were treated, I think it brings up the question that if both white and black men were being tested, would the black men still have received good food, transportation and health care? I personally think they would not have been treated equally if they were tested together so to avoid more racial severance, they tested them separately.
I agree with Tanya when saying that the treatment, transportation and such was just a lure to get the men there. i feel like this was a bribe that the scientists gave the black men. and you dont see them offering these things to white males because back then that would not really be a bribe to whites because most whites would be able to afford the things that the poor black men could not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with tanya also especially when she stated that the treatments, transportation and the other luxurious benifits where just used in a way to lure the african americans who were not highly educated, into a trap and a chance for the doctors to take advantage of them. I also agree with Gloria's comment about how 'The material items offered cannot outweigh the racism', It is a fact that the doctors searched for uneducated black men who they were certain of, would not use the benefits fully, or just use a minor part of the benefit. These black men were uneducated, hence the doctors could have put restrictions on the benefits,without the black men understanding the restrictions, making the benefits avaliable only during specific circumstances or not really avaliable at all.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an interesting question, and i believe it's strongly probable that although the study was ridiculous not curing them when a cure was found, the study still in fact lead to longer more livable lives of the subjects. Sure, there could've been much more done to ease the pain caused by Syphilis of these black men, but this was during a time where racism seemed a key part in life. They were considered "less human".. and what the study did for them (additional medical help, care, etc. ) was almost over the hill for how African Americans were normally treated this time. Yes, they had a cure. Yes, these men could've been treated but weren't.. Although living at home, things would've been much worse. First of all, it would've been highly probable these men wouldn't have come across someone knowing the cure, or finding it themselves. Then, the additional medical treatment and care of disease and sickness outside the realms of syphilis lead to much more suitable lives compared to living at home. Point is, This was an unethical trial, but things weren't truly as bad as numerous items show.
ReplyDeleteI think Connor brought up a very interesting point when he compares the pro's and con's of the benefits the african americans got from participating in the study and finding a cure but not offering it to the participants. I personally agree with Gloria's statement that "regardless of how extravagant the benefits are if the result will be the loss of the life of the individual because that life can never be gained back". This is very true because a human life is not something to be toy around with. If it was okay for an authority to decide whether or not who lives or dies, they would be in the position of God (but no one should dare try to put themselves on a pedestal when it comes to situations like these). The blacks were definetly lured by the benefits of the experiement. Poor white's did not participate whatsoever which shows that the scientists did not even try reaching the white neighborhood due to the fear of consequences.
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ReplyDeletegoing back all the way to the top, the prompt that connor wrote, i think that the only reason that the doctors decided to provide these men with the service is because it benifited the doctors more than it did for the black men. These doctors needed just one variable while they were doing the test, which was the disease: syphilis, by providing the free medical care to the black men who were tested, in a way the doctors were just preparing the men for a test, not really caring about providing them with benifits and in a way also fooling those men into thinking that they were the ones benifiting from these tests done on them.
ReplyDeleteThe test that was done was completely unethical once the cure was discovered that is something that nobody would contend. Is it possible that the deception of the subjects added to the unethical nature of the test? Something else that I feel has been lost throughout many of these discussions is the mentality of the blacks who survived. The survivors were appalled yet does the deceit add to the mental damage of the test?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Connor i believe that yes, deceit does add to the mental damage of the test, and just makes their lives that much more miserable after the fact. Knowing that they had a curable disease and yet the doctors made the decision to keep testing them for further results. They could not help but think of how they had been used as laboratory mice, only a tool for the scientist to continue his studies. Not only were they black in the south, in a time of significant racism, but they also were treated terribly by the doctors who they thought were looking out for their best interest.
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