Funding the Tuskegee Expertiment...

How was it possible for the government to fund such a horrible expertiment without anyone knowing of it. Are they that good at hiding things? This expertiment should have not went on as long as it did. Matter of fact, it should have not went on at all. The individuals who were responsible for funding and operating this expertiment should have faced more harsh consequences for what they did. I can not help but to think that if our government could get away with hiding what was truly going on in this expertiment, what else are they hiding?

Tuskegee Expertiment...was it necessary?

The Tuskegee Expertiiment is a reminder to me of how corrupt our government is. I do not believe that certain people have to suffer in order for our knowledge and understanding of science and life can improve. I believe that this expertiment was a way to justify the statement that it is ok to sacrifice certain human beings for the "greater good." I do not agree with that. In fact, I am not sure that the lifes that were lost and ruined due to this expertiment truly contribute to the "greater good." It seems to me like the Tuskegee expertiment caused more harm then good. Black men was used in this expertiment base on the fact that the effects syphilis is more visible on black men versus black women. Also, to prove the belief of inferiority among black men to eliminate any threats that were feared. On top of that many families, lifes, etc were ruined by this expertiment. And for what? For the advancement of medicine? Couldn't we eventually find a better way to improve medicine and learn about the human body? Was this expertiment necessary? I think not. The money that was used to fund this expertiment could have went to better use.

A matter of funds and support

The matter of funding was the main reason why one lasted longer than the other. This makes me wonder how many other types of eugenics like experiments might have had an impact on society if they had been more well funded or could have budgeted themselves better and lasted longer till a “breakthrough of sorts”. Could we possibly be living in a completely different world today? Or was this just an idea only really held by a few elitist types of people; and if it had ever really taken form the majority would have squashed it before any worldwide effects could have been instigated. I mean although we were doing the same types of experiments at the relative time of the holocaust we still stepped in… kind of. Who knows what would happened it just shows that ideas need support and history is defined by it. 

John Plevel

The Negro Project Vs. The Tuskegee Experiment

We talked in class about the differences between the Negro Project and the Tuskegee Experiment and why one out lasted the other. One factor that we talked about was money, but I don't think that was really the reason why the Negro Project  didn't last. I agree with the conclusion in the article that the Tuskegee Experiment lasted so long was because it conformed to the ideas of the time. The Negro Project wasn't blaming the African Americans for syphilis, but more so on Whites. The Tuskegee Experiment was putting the blame solely on the African Americans. At the time African Americans were considered lower class and "dirty". The Tuskegee Experiment backed those ideas up, while the Negro Project did not. So because the Tuskegee Experiment conformed to the ideas and thoughts of the time it was continued. That makes me wonder that if the Tuskegee Experiment was considered okay to do at the time, what are we doing now that is considered okay? How can we say any experiment we do is ethical? We say they are ethical by using the ideas, thoughts, and standards of our time. But so were the doctors and scientists of the Tuskegee Experiment. 

Treatment to Syphallis

While discussing in class about the Tuskegee experiment, I was always wondering if there was a treatment that could help all of the people affected. I know that they book talked about Penicillin being the magic medicine that was discovered to cure Syphilis. Why would the doctors not use it on some people to see the results? Wasn't that they main idea of the experiment? Were patients elsewhere, who were probably white, being treated with Penicillin? This made me think about how much useful information was being withheld from the patients that was hurting their chances at recovery. I realize that the idea of the experiment was not to cure the infected, but it seems like in that time period they were be more concerned about advancing medicine than repressing people.

Experiment as a way to be rid of a race?

I thought that the idea that Angela brought up in class about the Tuskegee Experiment as a way to be rid of the African American race was an interesting one to consider. They never gave any of the men treatment, even when a successful treatment was available. If they had wanted to watch what syphilis did to the body, wouldn't they also want to know how a treatment affected the body as well? It seemed to me that they wanted to see how the disease affected the body as well as see how many African Americans would die in the process. With the racist thinking of the time, I'm sure many of the doctors and scientists involved weren't all that sad when one of the men in the experiment died. They just wanted to make sure that they would get the body of the deceased. 

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

While reading the chapter in Medical Apartheid and the article, I was very surprised by the Tuskegee experiment. I was more interested in the time period when it happened and how no one knew about this. Rural, poor, black men who were thought to be infected with Syphilis were taken in and told they were going to be cured of their disease. The PHS used these men to see what affects the disease has on their bodies. How were all of the doctors okay with treating their patients like this? Did any of the doctors speak out against the experiment because they thought it was wrong? Did they feel it was okay to perform these experiments because they were black? If it was a legit study they would not discriminate against race, leading me to believe that there was an underlying reason to the Tuskegee experiment.