Chapter Nine: Was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study ethical? Are studies in nature ever ethically justified?
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was unethical since scientists did not show any concern for the subject’s livelihood. Overall, scientists put more significance on the scientific experiment versus a human life. In the study, there were 399 syphilis subjects and 201 non-syphilis subjects, mostly consisting of illiterate blacks. Scientists thought illiterate blacks were fit for the study due to their vulnerability and lack of knowledge. At the time, numerous whites viewed black’s as persons that do not contribute to society which considered them to be less important. During the study, doctors lied to both participants making them believe they were …show more content…
With mental illnesses having a negative view, people with mental health problems are likely to be discriminated and treated poorly. This stigma can worsen a person’s condition and make them feel trapped. In the mental health field, autonomy is seen to clash with beneficence in cases of individuals with mental illness. Inclusively, autonomy permits each patient to have control over their own bodies; to accept or refuse treatment. With beneficence it varies due to each patient’s circumstance. Generally, each health care professional should strive to improve each patient’s outcome. In the mental health field, clients can be deemed voluntary or involuntary. Overall, clients have to meet certain criteria to make an autonomous choice in which the physician should respect. With involuntary client’s, beneficence trumps autonomy since it is thought that clients are unable to make sound decisions and it’s in the physician best interested to improve the client’s …show more content…
Overall, genetic testing is not an inexpensive practice and there are certain criteria that patients need to meet to undergo testing. With knowing in advance your genetic future, everyone will want to be tested. With genetic diseases, a person is already subject and/or at a higher risk for the disease regardless of what they do, such as seen with the BRAC1 and/or BRAC2 mutation. People that carry that specific gene undergo prophylactic mastectomy to lower their risk for breast cancer. Additionally, knowing your genetic future can lead to eugenics since science is advancing it is improving the human population. With eugenics, couples can take certain steps to prevent having a baby with a genetic mutation. If that’s the case, then what’s to stop people from wanting their child to have a certain eye color? Where do we draw the line? Genetic screening was introduced to decrease medical diseases in a family, not to improve the genetic structure of a person. That’s why genetic counseling is available so families can make that
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was unethical since scientists did not show any concern for the subject’s livelihood. Overall, scientists put more significance on the scientific experiment versus a human life. In the study, there were 399 syphilis subjects and 201 non-syphilis subjects, mostly consisting of illiterate blacks. Scientists thought illiterate blacks were fit for the study due to their vulnerability and lack of knowledge. At the time, numerous whites viewed black’s as persons that do not contribute to society which considered them to be less important. During the study, doctors lied to both participants making them believe they were …show more content…
With mental illnesses having a negative view, people with mental health problems are likely to be discriminated and treated poorly. This stigma can worsen a person’s condition and make them feel trapped. In the mental health field, autonomy is seen to clash with beneficence in cases of individuals with mental illness. Inclusively, autonomy permits each patient to have control over their own bodies; to accept or refuse treatment. With beneficence it varies due to each patient’s circumstance. Generally, each health care professional should strive to improve each patient’s outcome. In the mental health field, clients can be deemed voluntary or involuntary. Overall, clients have to meet certain criteria to make an autonomous choice in which the physician should respect. With involuntary client’s, beneficence trumps autonomy since it is thought that clients are unable to make sound decisions and it’s in the physician best interested to improve the client’s …show more content…
Overall, genetic testing is not an inexpensive practice and there are certain criteria that patients need to meet to undergo testing. With knowing in advance your genetic future, everyone will want to be tested. With genetic diseases, a person is already subject and/or at a higher risk for the disease regardless of what they do, such as seen with the BRAC1 and/or BRAC2 mutation. People that carry that specific gene undergo prophylactic mastectomy to lower their risk for breast cancer. Additionally, knowing your genetic future can lead to eugenics since science is advancing it is improving the human population. With eugenics, couples can take certain steps to prevent having a baby with a genetic mutation. If that’s the case, then what’s to stop people from wanting their child to have a certain eye color? Where do we draw the line? Genetic screening was introduced to decrease medical diseases in a family, not to improve the genetic structure of a person. That’s why genetic counseling is available so families can make that