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The Tuskegee Syphillis Experiment

Decent Essays

The Tuskegee Syphillis Experiment, which ran from 1932 to 1972, displayed numerous unethical practices that goes against the integrity of medical research. There are several principles that are applied when it comes to medical research. The one principle is allowing individuals the right to be able to choose whether they would like to accept or decline participation in the research. The Tuskegee Experiment did not follow this principle due to the lack of information that was provided to each participant. No participant was given the full intention of the study. This allowed the researchers to manipulate the participants in order to gain full participation from the participants. The use of the Informed Consent would have been useful in this …show more content…

This is where the researcher acts in the best interest of the participant. The Tuskegee Experiment did not embrace this principle. During the study, it became known that Penicillin was an effective treatment for Syphillis. The participants of the study were not only denied this treatment, but was not even informed that there was a treatment available. The researchers also hindered the participants from receiving treatment from outside hospitals. Not allowing the participants to receive treatments from other hospitals violated Confidentiality. Anyone that was not in connection with that experiment should not have been given the names of those participants as well as their diagnosis of having Syphillis. Honesty is also another principle involved in medical ethics. The researchers were dishonest about the purpose of the experiment. They were also dishonest about the duration of the experiment. The researchers told the participants that the study was only for 6 months, but in actuality it was conducted over 40 years. They were also dishonest about available treatments. Instead of providing effective treatments, the participants were given a number of placebos or not given any treatment at

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