Unethical human experimentation in the United States

Unethical human experimentation Human subject research in the United States encompasses a series of medical experiments that were performed on human subjects, often without their knowledge or informed consent. These experiments, conducted in the past, have left an enduring legacy in the field of research ethics and have brought about important changes in the legal and ethical oversight of human research.

Experiments in physiology. Severity and attention Wellcome L0040057

History and Key Events

The history of unethical human experimentation in the U.S. includes several infamous examples. These include the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the Willowbrook Hepatitis Studies Willowbrook State School, and the Radiation Experiments. In these studies, researchers often exploited vulnerable populations, such as impoverished African-Americans, institutionalized children, and military personnel, violating their rights and dignity in the process.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, carried out by the U.S. Public Health Service between 1932 and 1972, involved withholding treatment for syphilis from African-American men in Macon County, Alabama, to observe the natural course of the disease. The study was initially designed to last six months, but it continued for 40 years. Even after penicillin was established as an effective treatment for syphilis, the men were not offered the drug.

The Willowbrook Hepatitis Studies

In the Willowbrook Hepatitis Studies, researchers at Willowbrook State School in New York deliberately infected mentally disabled children with hepatitis between 1956 and 1971 to study the disease. The children's parents were often coerced into giving consent, being told that it was the only way their children could be admitted to the overcrowded institution.

Radiation Experiments

From the 1940s through the 1970s, a number of radiation experiments were conducted, many of which involved exposing people, including pregnant women and newborns, to radioactive substances without their knowledge or informed consent.

Legal and Ethical Impact

These experiments and others led to a public outcry and ultimately to significant reforms in the ethics and regulation of human research. Among these changes was the establishment of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research in 1974, which issued the Belmont Report Belmont Report, a foundational document in research ethics that established three basic ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

Current Regulations

Today, strict regulations govern human subject research in the United States, largely as a result of past unethical practices. All research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) Institutional Review Board, and informed consent is typically required.

References

• Reverby, SM. (2009). "Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its Legacy". The University of North Carolina Press.
• Moreno, JD. (2001). "Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans". Routledge.
• Rothman, DJ. (1992). "Strangers at the Bedside: A History of How Law and Bioethics Transformed Medical Decision Making". Basic Books.

External Links

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - The Belmont Report
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Office for Human Research Protections
• World Medical Association - Declaration of Helsinki

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