The study under analysis is called the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male and it took place in Macon County, Alabama. The main purpose of the following study was “to record the natural history of syphilis in Blacks” (About the USPHS Syphilis Study, n.d., para. 1). However, at those times when the experiment started, there was no treatment for this disease and, moreover, people did not know that they suffer from it.
There were 600 participants, besides, all of them were black people. They were divided into two parts. The first one, which consisted of 399 people, became the experimental group. Moreover, every person in this group suffered from syphilis. The rest of the participants became control subjects. (About the USPHS Syphilis Study, n.d.). During the experiment, all black people lived under perfect conditions and had to accept all suggested procedures. However, there was no real treatment for them. Several years later the experiment was ended. However, there were several reasons for it.
First of all, it was called unethical as all participants were not informed about the conditions of the experiment and their illness. Moreover, a great number of patients died in the course of the experiment. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the aftermath of untreated syphilis, which is why patients were not informed about their disease. Their family members also suffered from it. However, this experiment became rather a controversial issue which led to some serious processes in society (LeNoir – NMA Pediatric Lecture Series, 2003). First of all, participants were promised to have free medical service. Moreover, the question of the moral side of different studies appeared. Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee was created in order to improve the situation and try to change the current state of affairs.