Tuskegee Experiment Essay Example

The Tuskegee experiment was carried out from the year 1934 to about 1974. The exploration sought to investigate the proliferation of syphilis in male adults of the African descent. The subjects of the study were residents of Alabama, who happened to be poor as a consequence of the social and economic factors that characterized them. Besides, the experiment was conducted in conjunction with Tuskegee University that is at the heart of the poor state. The men selected for the study were put in seclusion for extended periods (Miranda & Sanchez, 2014). Unknown to them, the endeavor was not meant to offer the medical solution as far as syphilis was concerned. The American medical unit, on the other hand, sought to use the experiment to understand the effects of the disease blacks and whites. It was previously hypothesized that the disease had a different impact in the case of blacks and whites. It caused many deaths to whites as opposed to the blacks. Therefore, in the experiment, the medical department wanted to confirm if indeed African Americans resisted the disease.

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In the long run, 40 of the subjects under the study died in the process of the experiment as the effects of syphilis weakened their bodies and immunities to the extent that it was not practically possible for the victims to live further (Brown, 2017). Equally, the others who survived developed further diseases that were products of syphilis that is not controlled. The wives of the affected men also suffered from the sickness. All in all, the experiment brought many problems as compared to other ends that were anticipated by the propagators of the investigation. At the time when the analysis was being done, the issue of racism was rampant in the United States. It was not easy to find any public institution that treated men and women the same way in the case of their abilities, rights, and capacity to deliver. Although the government maintained that its objectives in the experiment were all in the favorable light, the results made it apologize to the affected communities and families. However, the action did not bring back the lives that had been lost as well as the families that had been destroyed already.

U.S. Public Health Service experimented with the interest of finding out the progression of such a sickness if it was left untreated for some time. In doing the experiment that was research-based, the public service responsible for healthcare did not obtain consent from the participants. The unsuspecting members only engaged in the endeavor in the hope that they would be offered free medical services. In this perspective, the people readily accepted the move as they were from poor backgrounds, and affording medical care for syphilis was somewhat far-fetched. It is surprising how the experiment was still encouraged for over forty years without the United States government noticing that it was doing much damage than what was initially suggested. Many lives were lost, citizens of the African American decent felt that they were not being considered Americans like the rest (Brown, 2017). On the same accord, the manner in which the experiment was conducted the spirited discussion on the applicability of human rights in health care. Blacks were considered inferior persons who could not fight for their rights. This was pegged on the nature of the American society. If the action were exposed early enough by some of the leaders in the land, the issue would have been evaluated and stopped if it was concluded that such a practice was somewhat discriminatory and exploitative at the same time.

As it stands now, still there exist victims of the Tuskegee experiment. The primary victims of the research are the families where the male members with the disease taken for the study. In case the persons were the bread-winners, those who were left behind ended up suffering in their pursuit to meet their day to day obligations and needs. Although this can be challenged on the basis that the experiment was selectively centered on Alabama since members of the populace were poor, it is plausible that not everyone was doing bad. Based on the struggles that the surviving wives and children had to go through after that, they still recount the effects to date. In point of fact, some of the wives whose husbands died in the 1970s as a consequence of the experiment confirm that they are presently living average lives because of the traumatizing situations that they had to accommodate after they learnt of the motives that the state had initially when starting the syphilis experiment (Tortora et al., 2016). Equally, children who were born from women who had the infection developed related diseases the moment they were born. For one to be successful in any venture, they must possess the necessary mental and physical conditions. As it stands, the proliferation of diseases makes it rather impossible for people to engage in positive developments. As such, children born from families that were affected by the sexually transmitted disease have found it had to compete with their counterparts from the other states that were not involved.

For a fact, it is believed that this experiment sought to increase the gap that is manifest amid whites and blacks. The lives of blacks did not matter to the nurses and doctor who experimented. The other group of victims that are still alive today include those that completed the experiment without succumbing to the pain accrued as a consequence of continued suffering. After the investigation ended in the year1972, the state engaged those that had fallen victims of the study. They were offered free treatment to reinstate them to their normal states. Nevertheless, the disease had left some irreparable damage that the concerned people still denote until today. It is evident that if the experiment were not harmful to the lives of the African American subjects, the surviving ones would not be remembering the events at all.

Several laws have been enacted to bring an end to events such as the Tuskegee experiment. First of all, the constitution was amended to highlight the need to treat African Americans and whites are equals. Although the law received a low reception in the white-dominated nation, since, all states are recognizing the law to the extent that discrimination is treated as a felony that could accrue first-degree charges when prosecuted in the court of law. The Obamacare is yet another law that identified the medical challenges that the destitute have to face on each passing day. Suffice it to say; the law reduced the price of premiums of medical coverage to meet the needs of those whose financial capacity is not that outstanding. Also, the law asks all medical institutions and professionals to exercise their mandates as prescribed in the law. In the present case, it is not possible to experiment with subjects without obtaining consent and the necessary documentation. With these strategies, it is indeed correct to express that the American society will not see the challenges witnessed as those characterizing the syphilis experiment.

Conclusion

To sum it up, the above deliberation confirms that the Tuskegee experiment was unethical. In fact, no single ground suggests that an experiment had an element of good faith. Instead, it was only conducted to torture African Americans whose lives were only weighted for experimental purposes. The apology issued by the U.S. government thirty years later is not sufficient enough to prove that the end justified the means. On the same note, the end of the experiment clarified that African Americans were just like any other race and they were affected by syphilis, which would kill them in extreme situations. The other injustice that the government has procured in the name of science is the test on guinea pigs. The animals were used to coin the dialysis of the kidney, blood transfusion, and tissue transplants. In the process, the population of guinea pigs has reduced significantly. Recently, the animals were used in hypersensitivity testing. The experiment was met by several attempts which saw the reduction of the animal subjects. All in all, the injustices of the Tuskegee experiment are still vivid in the minds of many, both the affected and the other interested parties.

References

Brown, D. (2017). You've got bad blood': the horror of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. Washington (DC): The Washington Post.

Miranda Jr, D., & Sanchez, D. J. (2014). The Tuskegee experiment: an introduction to ethics for pre-healthcare professional students. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 15(2), 232.

Tortora, G.J., Funke, B.R. & Case, C.L. (2016). Microbiology: An introduction. (12 ed). London, United Kingdom. Pearson Education, Inc.