Tuskgee Syphilis Study

The study was conducted by the United States Public Health Service[PHS] and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[CDC] between 1932-1972. It denied treatment for syphilis to 399 African American patients in rural Alabama. The patients were not told they had syphilis. The purpose of the study was to observe the effects of the disease when left untreated. The men were not informed of the nature of the experiment, and more than 100 died as a result.

PHS started the study in 1932 in collaboration with Tuskegee University, a historically black college in Alabama. The investigators took 600 African Americans for the study, among whom 399 had syphilis, and 201 were not affected. Researchers told the men they were treated for "bad blood," a local term used to describe several ailments, including syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. In exchange for taking part in the study, the men received free medical exams, free meals, and burial insurance. None of the infected men was treated with penicillin even though, by 1947, the antibiotic was widely available and had become the standard treatment for syphilis. Initially, the men were told that the experiment would only last six months, but it was about 40 years.

On July 25, 1972, Jean Heller of the Associated Press published the study. As a result, The Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs appointed an advisory panel comprising nine members to review the study. The advisory panel concluded that the study was "ethically unjustified." The study was terminated on November 16 of the same year. By then, 28 patients had died directly from syphilis, 100 died from complications related to syphilis, 40 of the patients' wives were infected with syphilis, and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis. This study has been cited as "arguably the most infamous biomedical research study" in U.S. history.

In 1973, Attorney Fred Gray filed a class-action suit on behalf of the men in the study, their wives, children, and families. It ended a settlement giving more than $9 million to the study participants.