Peter Buxtun

Peter Buxtun

Peter Buxtun

Peter Buxtun is a former United States Public Health Service employee who became known for his role as a whistleblower in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. His actions helped bring an end to the unethical study and led to significant changes in medical ethics and research ethics in the United States.

Early Life and Education

Peter Buxtun was born in Czechoslovakia and later moved to the United States. He pursued his education in the field of public health and became a venereal disease investigator for the United States Public Health Service.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was a clinical study conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the United States Public Health Service. The study aimed to observe the natural progression of untreated syphilis in African American men in Macon County, Alabama, under the guise of providing free health care.

Buxtun's Role

In the 1960s, while working as a venereal disease investigator, Buxtun learned about the study and its unethical practices. He raised concerns with his superiors about the lack of informed consent and the withholding of treatment from the participants, who were not informed of their diagnosis and were denied access to penicillin, which had become the standard treatment for syphilis.

Whistleblowing

After his concerns were ignored, Buxtun leaked information about the study to the press in 1972. His actions led to widespread public outrage and the eventual termination of the study. The exposure of the study's unethical practices resulted in a public apology from the United States government and significant reforms in research ethics, including the establishment of the National Research Act and the requirement for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to oversee research involving human subjects.

Impact and Legacy

Buxtun's whistleblowing had a profound impact on the field of medical ethics. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study became a pivotal case in the history of bioethics, highlighting the need for ethical standards in research and the protection of human subjects. The study's exposure also contributed to the development of the Belmont Report, which outlines ethical principles and guidelines for research involving human subjects.

Related Pages

• Tuskegee Syphilis Study
• Medical ethics
• Research ethics
• Whistleblower
• Institutional Review Board