Introduction
The Deadly Deception, discusses the inhumane events of the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in Negro Males.” The study took place in the 1930’s in Mecon County, Alabama and consisted of a total 400 poor, African American sharecroppers that would not question the activities of government doctors. The study was supposed to last 6 months but extended to 40 years. The men were recruited from schools and churches with the promise of receiving treatment for “bad blood”. However, the government doctors had no intentions of actually providing these men with any sort of treatment, even after it was discovered that penicillin could treat syphilis. Instead the government doctors were interested in researching the affects of late and latent syphilis in African Americans as opposed to white. The doctors gathered information for their study through physical exams, blood tests, x-rays, and even spinal taps. The men consented to spinal taps because they were deceived into thinking it was treatment. During the study it was discovered that both races suffered the same signs and symptoms of the disease; this new information contradicts the original hypotheses that syphilis was less deadly in amongst African American, and drove the doctors to turn the study into a long-term open research project lasting 40 years. Over the 40 years the participants had all of their basic human rights and health care needs restrained, because of their skin color, socio economic status and lack of education.
Ethical Principles Of Respect For Persons, Beneficence, And Justice
According to the Belmont Report, respect for persons consists of two ethical beliefs: the first is “that individuals should be treated as autonomous agents” and second the “person with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection”. (“The Belmont Report”, 2016). The men of Tuskegee were not treated as individuals; they were all given the exact same placebo and received the same plan of care. The men were not properly educated about their conditions, what they were being tested for and what kind of treatments they were receiving, thus they could not give a valid consent to be apart of this study.
The Belmont report defines beneficence as “an ethical manner not only by respecting their decisions and protecting them from harm, but also making efforts to secure their well-being.” (“The Belmont Report”,2016). In the Tuskegee project, after penicillin was discovered to treat syphilis, it was still with held from the men, for the purpose of researching the late and latent signs and symptoms of syphilis. The doctors made no effort to provide these ill men with treatment and when the men tried to seek out treatment they were denied it or the physician that provided services were punished.
Justice is defined as “‘fairness in distribution and what is deserved’”. (“The Belmont Report”,2016). The men of the Tuskegee project were treated unjust because of the color of their skin, location and social status.
Relating the Nuremberg code of 1947 and Belmont Report to the Tuskegee syphilis study
The Nuremberg codes is a group of international, ethical guidelines for human experimentation that were created in 1948, after unethical procedures were performed by 23 German physicians to humans during World War II. Germans were subjects to medical experiments that resulted in them being permanently crippled or dead. The purpose of the code was informed consent and beneficence. Like the Nuremberg Code, the Belmont Report was created in 1978, to protect participants of medical studies of their basic human rights. During the time of the Tuskegee Project, the Nuremberg code was completely disregarded, although it had already been implemented. The subjects of the study were not aware of all the risk and benefits of the study, nor did the benefits outweigh the risk. The Tuskegee Syphilis study was a repeat of similar experiments done to Jewish people in concentration camps. Although, the context of the experiment was different, medical professionals treated individuals of the study similarly.
Violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Not only was Tuskegee Syphilis Study unethical, it also violated numerous human rights. For example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 2 explains that everyone is entitled to the same rights and freedom regardless of their sex, social origin, race, property or other status; however, the men of Tuskegee was singled out because of their races, educational status and social status. The government doctors took advantage of the fact that the men were not as educated or wealthy enough to question the care they were receiving. The study also singled out these men because of their races with the purpose of researching how signs and symptoms of syphilis was affected by the color of their skin.
Nurse Eunice Rivers
Nurse Rivers had multiple roles in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Her roles include encouraging 399 men to continue the study while taking care of their needs and also convincing the families of the men that died from syphilis to allow doctors to perform autopsies on the corpses. Looking back at the study decades later it is easy to blame Nurse Rivers because her actions were unethical, but considering the setting of the study she may have acted out of fear. She was an African American female nurse working under multiple white male physicians, only three generation after slavery ended. Her actions were unethical, but so were the actions of everyone that was in charge of the study, the only difference between the others involved in the study and Nurse Rivers was that they tried to justify their involvement, where as Nurse Rivers did not have that opportunity. The reason for her involvement is unknown, thus making it easier to blame her for role in the study.
Tuskegee Era vs. Now
During the Tuskegee Era researchers main focus was to validate or disprove a hypothesis without regards for the participants. However, after the implementation of many ethical guidelines, there is much more concern for the subjects and their well-being. The men of the Tuskegee syphilis study were not informed about the parameters of the study and of their basic rights as an individual. Today in order be a participants of a study the individuals must be properly informed about the study, the treatments they will receive, the fact that they have the ability to decided when they want to end their involvement in the study, and freedom to exercise their basic human rights. Studies now are not as focused on the purpose of proving or disproving hypothesis, but justifying the benefits of participants in a particular study, in addition exhibiting bias towards a specific group of individuals is consciously eliminated. There is much more awareness for the welfare of study participants.
Conclusion
After watching Deadly Deception it broke my heart to see that there was once a time in biomedical research where there was no regards for the well being of participants. Unfortunately there is nothing that could be done to reverse the affects of the Tuskegee syphilis study but this the perfect example of what not to in the future. Every physician, government official and nurse that participated in this study are equally to be blamed for the harm they cause these 399 men and their families. These individuals had their basic human right taken away, while suffering from an illness that could have been treated.