In the mid-1900s, research was conducted by the US Public Health Service and funded by the US government that involved egregious violations of human rights. The public response to these studies played a critical role in the establishment of protections for human subjects.
PART 1: Read these articles for an overview of US public health research at the time of Tuskegee. When reading Jones et al. (2016), search for Willowbrook and Tuskegee to read specific details about these studies.
Jones D. S., Grady C., Lederer S. E. (2016). "Ethics and Clinical Research": the 50th Anniversary of Beecher's Bombshell. New England Journal of Medicine.
Krugman, S. (1986). The Willowbrook Hepatitis Studies Revisited: Ethical Aspects. Reviews of Infectious Diseases.
Reverby, S. M. (2012). Ethical Failures and History Lessons: The US Public Health Service Research Studies in Tuskegee and Guatemala.
Answer the following questions:
1. At what point did the syphilis research at Tuskegee and Guatemala become unethical? What factors made the research unethical?
2. At what point did the hepatitis research at the Willowbrook State School become unethical? What factors made the research unethical?
3. What did the scientists who conducted the Tuskegee syphilis study hope to find out, i.e., what was their purpose in conducting the research?
4. What did the scientists who conducted the Willowbrook hepatitis studies hope to find out, i.e., what was their purpose in conducting the research?
5. What changed after the public became aware of human rights abuses that took place in the context of U.S. public health research at Tuskegee, Willowbrook, and elsewhere (e.g., Guatemala)?