Between the years of 1932 to 1972, the United States Public Health Service conducted an awful experiment with the Tuskegee Institute involving over 500 black male sharecroppers who were infected with syphilis. The earliest phase of the experiment was in 1932 in Macon County, Alabama. They wanted to observe the effects of the disease and trace it back to its evolution. Sadly, these men were placebos. They were not told they had syphilis; they were not warned about the consequences of the disease; and, they were giving absolutely no health care.
They were not giving penicillin, the drug that could save their lives, but instead doses of aspirin to relieve their aches and pains. The government thought that penicillin would be harmful to those who …show more content…
So how could something so morally wrong have occurred? That is the big question, and Bad Blood provides an answer.
More and more blacks began to develop the disease. The author provides an example from the Wassermann Survey, where 37% of those tested came back positive for syphilis in Macon County.
There seemed to be theories on what caused the disease such as, the germ theory: because of the conditions in which blacks lived, people seemed to think that the disease was caused by them, and was looked upon as the “black disease." Obviously, blacks were a scapegoat for the disease. The author not only discusses the diseased, but also provides insight on doctors in the clinics. Dr. H.L. Harris, Jr.’s report addresses the arduous work schedule and poor clinical conditions encountered by the doctors involved in the experiment. Harris also reported the use of mercury as treatment on infected patients, which contaminated the experiment.
The author brings up an important topic about nurses viewing themselves. For example, Nurse Rivers, an pathologist views herself as a nurse who is supposed to follow doctor's orders, no matter her ethic or moral
They were not giving penicillin, the drug that could save their lives, but instead doses of aspirin to relieve their aches and pains. The government thought that penicillin would be harmful to those who …show more content…
So how could something so morally wrong have occurred? That is the big question, and Bad Blood provides an answer.
More and more blacks began to develop the disease. The author provides an example from the Wassermann Survey, where 37% of those tested came back positive for syphilis in Macon County.
There seemed to be theories on what caused the disease such as, the germ theory: because of the conditions in which blacks lived, people seemed to think that the disease was caused by them, and was looked upon as the “black disease." Obviously, blacks were a scapegoat for the disease. The author not only discusses the diseased, but also provides insight on doctors in the clinics. Dr. H.L. Harris, Jr.’s report addresses the arduous work schedule and poor clinical conditions encountered by the doctors involved in the experiment. Harris also reported the use of mercury as treatment on infected patients, which contaminated the experiment.
The author brings up an important topic about nurses viewing themselves. For example, Nurse Rivers, an pathologist views herself as a nurse who is supposed to follow doctor's orders, no matter her ethic or moral