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The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

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The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was a clinical study of untreated syphilis in hundreds of poor African American men. The members of the study thought that they were receiving free healthcare from the United States Government, and were told only that they had “bad blood.” Throughout the experiment the men remained unaware that they had syphilis. Even with the development of penicillin, the standard treatment for the syphilis, the men went purposefully untreated for the sake of the experiment. The study lasted forty years. Along the lines of the Catholic Social Teaching, this study is entirely unacceptable. First and foremost, the experiment is in total disregard of dignity. Humans are created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore

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