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Syphilis is a chronic, contagious bacterial disease that is most often
sexually transmitted but is sometimes congenital. Since about 1946, the
disease has been successfully treated with antibiotics. Prior to 1946,
individuals with the disease had an inevitable progress through its
sequelae, from the primary lesion and chancre to rash, fever, and
swollen lymph nodes to the final stage of nervous system and circulatory
problems, and finally death. The progress of the disease is often 30-40
years.
Around 1929 there were several counties in the South with a high
incidence of syphilis. The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) began a
demonstration project to treat those afflicted with the disease in Macon
County, Alabama, home of the famous Tuskegee Institute. With the Great
Depression, funding for the project decreased and finally the
demonstration project to treat the men became an opportunity for a
study in nature. A study in nature means that the researchers were not to
treat the patients but rather were to observe the natural progression of
the disease. To conduct this study in nature, the USPHS selected 399
African American men who had never received treatment.
The research group was told essentially that they had "bad blood," and
they had been selected for special free treatment. Except for an African
American nurse, Eunice Rivers, there was very little continuity with
staffing of the experiment, as the federal doctors would come every few
years to check on the progress of the disease. To induce the participants,
they were promised free transportation, free hot lunches, free medicine
(for everything but syphilis), and free burials. An interesting although
somewhat dramatized version of the study can be seen in the film Miss
Evers' Boys (1997).
although antibiotics were available in adequate supply by 1946 the study subjects were never treated. In fact, the local draft board was provided their name so that they could never enter the army where they would have been treated as a matter, of course the local members of the county medical society were also provided their names and were asked not to provide them with antibiotics in July 1972, Peter Buxton of the US PHS, who had been criticizing the study since 1966 told the story to an associated prose reporter in the research became headlines across the nation in 1997 President Clinton officially apologized the remaining study participants on behalf of the United States government. The Teskey study is now infamous review the case, and answer, following with ethical theories, ethical philosophy, ethical principles, and professional/public laws.
1. consider each of the individual basic principles: autonomy, veracity, beneficence, nonmalefince, justice, raw, Fidelity, and confidentiality which of these principles were sacrificed in the Teskey study explain your answer
2. to what extent should blame for the lack of ethical conduct be placed on the shoulders of Nurse Eunice rivers, although never in charge, it should be noted that during the study physicians came and went, but Nurse rivers was the consistent figure figure throughout the study, the US PHS awarded her several accommodations for her work is she more less or equally to blame with the others involved? Explain your answer.

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