Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

    I wonder how frequently these type of experiments are performed without public knowledge.

    Guatemalans who were deliberately infected with syphilis or gonorrhoea in medical tests in the 1940s are suing the US government for compensation.

    Hundreds of Guatemalan prisoners, psychiatric patients and orphans were infected without their consent in a programme to study penicillin.

    A class action lawsuit was filed by lawyers for the Guatemalans and their relatives.

    The US apologised last year for the "reprehensible" experiments.

    But lawyers said the Obama administration had not responded to a request for an out-of-court compensation settlement.

    The tests were kept secret for decades, until a medical historian uncovered hidden records and made them public last year.

    The study carried out by US scientists took place in Guatemala between 1946 and 1948.

    Evidence of the programme was unearthed by Prof Susan Reverby at Wellesley College in the US.

    The Guatemalan government of the day gave permission for the tests, she said.

    But the people infected were unaware they were being experimented on.

    In the experiments, researchers bribed care workers to let them inject their charges, while prisoners were encouraged to sleep with infected prostitutes.

    Current Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom called the tests a "crime against humanity" when they came to light.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12739793
    Last edited by KanadaHye; 03-15-2011, 04:13 AM.
    "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." ~Malcolm X

  • #2
    Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

    Originally posted by KanadaHye View Post
    I wonder how frequently these type of experiments are performed without public knowledge.
    I’m pretty sure that years later we’re going to hear almost the same story about HIV and AIDS

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

      I heard about this before, what abhorrs me is that the Guatamalen government during that time AGREED to the experimentation.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

        Originally posted by Tali View Post
        I heard about this before, what abhorrs me is that the Guatamalen government during that time AGREED to the experimentation.
        That's because it wasn't really a Guatamalan government, it was a US subsidiary with a Guatamalan face.
        Azerbaboon: 9.000 Google hits and counting!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

          *waits for the shock to hit me*

          ....

          *checks watch*

          ...

          Nope. No shock comin'

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

            Originally posted by Tali View Post
            *waits for the shock to hit me*

            ....

            *checks watch*

            ...

            Nope. No shock comin'
            It is pretty much the history of Latin America as a whole in the second half of the 20th century.
            Azerbaboon: 9.000 Google hits and counting!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

              Originally posted by Federate View Post
              It is pretty much the history of Latin America as a whole in the second half of the 20th century.
              Except Mexico, surprisingly. That's its own twisted history. But yea, overall i'd agree

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

                Yikes, this was in my IRB (Institutional Review Board) training to work with human participants (subjects). Part of history and why we now have institutional review and ethics board review approval necessary. Time for the government to relive the embarrassment with this in the headlines again.
                [COLOR=#4b0082][B][SIZE=4][FONT=trebuchet ms]“If you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”
                -Henry Ford[/FONT][/SIZE][/B][/COLOR]

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Guatemalans sue US over syphilis tests

                  except for the voluntary guinea pig job...

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X