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Crime Against Humanity: The U.S. Syphilis Experiment

Crime Against Humanity: The U.S. Syphilis Experiment

In the 1930s, the United States was ravaged by syphilis.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, which at that point in time, afflicted nearly 1 in 10 Americans, and produced physical symptoms, such as painful sores and rashes that persisted for around two years!

If left uncured, syphilis would progress through the body and could cause organ damage, heart disorders, brain disorders, and even blindness.

It was incredibly difficult to slow the spread of the disease. Experts cautioned against unprotected sex, but the infection could also be passed during childbirth.

Worse still, existing treatments at that point in time, like mercury and bismuth were considered unreliable at best, and potentially harmful at worst.

Today these heavy metals are classified as toxic chemicals, but at the time, doctors were still uncovering their dangerous side effects.

During this time period, the medical fraternity wanted an answer to one key question and that was,

Did the symptoms and effects of syphilis, change on the basis of an individual’s racial profile?