Before 1900s:

○ Influences and personal opinions

○ Experimenters were curious about the results that
they would get if they conducted certain tests
○ Looking for ways to study the progression of
diseases
○ Looking for ways to torture oppressed groups
During 1900s:
○ Guatemala Syphilis experiment
■ People in Guatemala get STD because of U.S. Medical

Researchers

■ Happened between 1946 and 1948

■ More than 1,308 Guatemalans complained about diseases

■ No one really did anything to help them

During 1900s:
○ Tuskegee Syphilis experiment

■ Done on African American males

■ Didn't ask for the consent of the men

■ Injected syphilis

■ Thought they had “bad blood” and that they were being helped
During 1900s:
○ Japanese Unit 731

■ Chemical warfare

■ Dissected people alive and without anesthetic

■ Deliberately infected prisoners with plague

■ Used for medical experimentation

During 1900s (conflict):
○ Holocaust Experiments and Torture

■ Experimented on concentration camp prisoners

■ Freezing victims in icy water

■ Gas chambers for mass murder

During 1900s (conflict):
○ Radiation Experiments
■ Decided animal experimentation wasn’t enough, so they moved to

humans

■ Inject radioactive elements into civilians

■ Many physicians were unaware of what they injected into patients

■ No consent from subjects

During 1900s (conflict):
○ LSD (Acid) Experiments
■ CIA’s human experiments

■ Used MK-Ultra and Operation Midnight Climax

■ Secret “mind-control” experiments using radiation, electroshock therapy,

and chemicals

■ Proves even trusted gov. agencies are capable of hurting the population
During 1900s (conflict):
○ Gay Experiments

■ 1970’s, people were trying to cure gayness

■ Flood subjects’ brains with electrical shocks to

convince subject that being gay was bad

■ Use electric shocks as punishment to how they

mentally saw themselves

After 1900s (resolution):
○ Experiments discovered, more awareness, avoid future experiments if unethical
○ New laws:
■ Need to be given a disclosure of any appropriate alternative procedures,
drugs or devices that might be advantageous to the subject, and their
relative risks and benefits

■ Requires that you be instructed that consent to participate in the medical

experiment may be withdrawn at any time

■ Subject may discontinue participation in medical experiment without

prejudice

■ Patient must be aware of procedure and any drug or device used

○ Apologies, prosecutions, arrests
■ Apologies from 2 presidents