It is a shocking irony that at the same time the Nazi regime was performing horrendous medical experiments on people it had imprisoned, there were public health projects in the the US that disregarded the dignity of individuals in the same way.

The reading below tells the story of this disturbing (yet important) moment in the development of ethical reflection in America. These events led, in particular, to Congressional investigations in the 1970s that established the bioethical principles we use today at the heart of scientific investigation using human subjects, as well as the approach to capacity and consent insisted upon in all clinical interactions with patients.

The episode also, disturbingly, points to the reality of racial bias and injustice that still haunts many of our systems and organizations.

Read about this here:

tuskegee.pdfPreview the document

ACTUAL ASSIGNMENT:
On the Discussion Board, post a response to the following question: Given the details shared in the reading about the Tuskegee Experiment, how does an appreciation for the dignity of the person along the lines offered by Catholic Social Teaching critique what was allowed to take place in that experiment?