#peter buxtun

[odinsblog]

NEW YORK (AP) — Peter Buxtun, the whistleblower who revealed that the U.S. government allowed hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama to go untreated for syphilis in what became known as the Tuskegee study, has died. He was 86.

Buxtun died May 18 of Alzheimer’s disease in Rocklin, California, according to his attorney, Minna Fernan.

Buxtun is revered as a hero to public health scholars and ethicists for his role in bringing to light the most notorious medical research scandal in U.S. history. Documents that Buxtun provided to The Associated Press, and its subsequent investigation and reporting, led to a public outcry that ended the study in 1972.

Forty years earlier, in 1932, federal scientists began studying 400 Black men in Tuskegee, Alabama, who were infected with syphilis. When antibiotics became available in the 1940s that could treat the disease, federal health officials ordered that the drugs be withheld. The study became an observation of how the disease ravaged the body over time.

In the mid-1960s, Buxtun was a federal public health employee working in San Francisco when he overheard a co-worker talking about the study. The research wasn’t exactly a secret — about a dozen medical journal articles about it had been published in the previous 20 years. But hardly anyone had raised any concerns about how the experiment was being conducted.

“This study was completely accepted by the American medical community,” said Ted Pestorius of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking at a 2022 program marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the study.

Buxtun had a different reaction. After learning more about the study, he raised ethical concerns in a 1966 letter to officials at the CDC. In 1967, he was summoned to a meeting in Atlanta, where he was chewed out by agency officials for what they deemed to be impertinence. Repeatedly, agency leaders rejected his complaints and his call for the men in Tuskegee to be treated.

He left the U.S. Public Health Service and attended law school, but the study ate at him. In 1972, he provided documents about the research to Edith Lederer, an AP reporter he had met in San Francisco. Lederer passed the documents to AP investigative reporter Jean Heller, telling her colleague, “I think there might be something here.”

Heller’s story was published on July 25, 1972, leading to Congressional hearings, a class-action lawsuit that resulted in a $10 million settlement and the study’s termination about four months later. In 1997, President Bill Clinton formally apologized for the study, calling it “shameful.”

The leader of a group dedicated to the memory of the study participants said Monday they are grateful to Buxtun for exposing the experiment.

“We are thankful for his honesty and his courage,” said Lille Tyson Head, whose father was in the study.

(continue reading)

[brownskinsugarplum76]

Peter Buxtun, whistleblower who exposed Tuskegee syphilis study, dies aged 86 | US news | The Guardian

[longliveblackness]

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

Acting on the presumption that rural southern blacks were generally more promiscuous and syphilitic than whites, and without sufficient funding to establish an effective treatment program for them, doctors working with the Public Health Service (PHS) commenced a multi-year experiment in 1932.

Their actions deprived 400 largely uneducated and poor African Americans in Tuskegee, Alabama of proper and reasonable treatment for syphilis, a disease whose symptoms could easily have been relieved with the application of penicillin which became available in the 1940s.

Patients were not told they had syphilis nor were they provided sufficient medication to cure them. More than 100 men died due to lack of treatment while others suffered insanity, blindness and chronic maladies related to the disease.

The original experiment took on a life of its own as physicians, intrigued by the prospect of gathering scientific data, ignored human rights and ethical considerations and managed to extend it until 1972 when a PHS researcher Peter Buxtun revealed its history to the press. Public exposure embarrassed the scientific community and the government and the experiment was quickly shut down.

Attorney Fred Gray initiated a lawsuit on behalf of the patients. In an out-of-court settlement each surviving patient received medical treatment and $40,000 in compensation.

In the wake of the scandal Congress passed the National Research Act of 1974 which required more stringent oversight of studies employing human subjects.

In 1997, on behalf of the federal government, President Bill Clinton issued a formal apology to the victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.

•••

Experimento de Tuskegee (Sífilis)

Actuando bajo la presunción de que los negros en las áreas rurales del sur eran generalmente mas promiscuos y sifilíticos que los blancos, y sin tener los fondos suficientes para establecer un programa de tratamiento efectivo, los doctores que trabajaban para el Servicio de Salud Publica comenzaron un experimento que duró varios años en el año 1932.

Sus acciones privaron a cuatrocientos afroamericanos de un tratamiento adecuado y razonable para el sífilis, una enfermedad cuyos síntomas podrían haberse aliviado fácilmente con la aplicación de penicilina, la cual estuvo disponible en la década de 1940.

A los pacientes no se les dijo que tenían sífilis, tampoco se les brindó suficiente medicamento para curarlos. Mas de cien hombres fallecieron debido a la falta de medicamento, mientras que otros sufrían demencia, ceguera y otras enfermedades crónicas relacionadas con la enfermedad.

El experimento original cobró vida propia cuando los médicos, intrigados por la perspectiva de recopilar datos científicos, ignoraron los derechos humanos y las consideraciones éticas y lograron extenderlo hasta 1972 En este año es cuando un investigador del Servicio de Salud Pública, Peter Buxtun, reveló su historia a la prensa. La exposición pública avergonzó a la comunidad científica y al gobierno y el experimento fue rápidamente cancelado.

El abogado Fred Gray inició una demanda en nombre de los pacientes. En un acuerdo extrajudicial, cada paciente que sobrevivió, recibió tratamiento médico y 40,000 dólares de indemnización.

A raíz del escándalo, el Congreso aprobó la Ley de Investigación Nacional de 1974, que exige una supervisión más estricta de los estudios que utilizan sujetos humanos.

En 1997, en nombre del gobierno federal, el presidente Bill Clinton emitió una disculpa formal a las víctimas del Experimento de Sífilis de Tuskegee.

[lboogie1906]

Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male was an infamous and unethical clinical study conducted (1932-72) by the US Public Health Service. The purpose of this study was to observe the natural history of untreated syphilis; the African-American men in the study were only told they were receiving free health care from the US government.

Public Health Service started working on this study in 1932 in collaboration with Tuskegee University. Investigators enrolled in the study a total of 600 impoverished, African American sharecroppers from Macon County, AL. Of these men, 399 had latent syphilis and 201 did not have the disease. The men were given free medical care, meals, and free burial insurance for participating in the study. The men were told that the study was only going to last six months, but it lasted 40 years. After funding for treatment was lost, the study was continued without informing the men that they would never be treated. None of the men were told that they had the disease, and none were treated with penicillin even after the antibiotic was proven to successfully treat syphilis. According to the CDC, the men were told that they were being treated for “bad blood”, a colloquialism that described various conditions such as syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. “Bad blood”—specifically the collection of illnesses the term included—was a leading cause of death within the southern African-American community.

The 40-year Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male study was unethical for reasons related to ethical standards. Researchers knowingly failed to treat patients appropriately after the 1940s validation of penicillin was found as an effective cure for the disease that they were studying. The revelation in 1972 of study failures by a whistleblower, Peter Buxtun, led to major changes in US law and regulation on the protection of participants in clinical studies. Now studies require informed consent, communication of diagnosis, and accurate reporting of test results.

By 1947, penicillin had become the standard treatment for syphilis. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[cavenewstimes]

Tuskegee syphilis study whistleblower Peter Buxtun has died at age 86

NEW YORK (AP) — Peter Buxtun, the whistleblower who revealed that the U.S. government allowed hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama to go untreated for syphilis in what became known as the Tuskegee study, has died. He was 86. Buxtun died May 18 of Alzheimer’s disease in Rocklin, California, according to his attorney, Minna Fernan. Buxtun is revered as a hero to public health scholars and…

[hackernewsrobot]

Peter Buxtun, whistleblower who exposed Tuskegee syphilis study, has died

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/15/peter-buxtun-tuskegee-whistleblower-dies

[inventivaindia]

Peter Buxtun and the Tuskegee Experiment

Peter Buxtun and the Tuskegee Experiment

For our next feature in the whistleblower series, we have Peter Buxtun. Buxtun is a man who grew up in the bay area of the United States – San Francisco. He was born in Prague in 1937. He was a Public Health service agent for the government of the country who blew the whistle on the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. About Buxtun

Peter and his family arrived in the states as World War II immigrants…

[gkdhaka]

AP exposes the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: The 50th Anniversary

AP exposes the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: The 50th Anniversary

WASHINGTON (AP) — EDITOR’S NOTE — On July 25, 1972, Jean Heller, a reporter on The Associated Press investigative team, then called the Special Assignment Team, broke news that rocked the nation. Based on documents leaked by Peter Buxtun, a whistleblower at the U.S. Public Health Service, the then 29-year-old journalist and the only woman on the team, reported that the federal government let…

[kilmesnet]

Estudios cientificos...

Como parte del proceso de modernización y humanización del proceso de estudio de vacunas en los EEUU se dicta la "Ley de Control de Productos Biológicos". A sabiendas que un proceso legal y regulado insume unos 15 años de laboratorio, pruebas en animales y pruebas de campo, hubo algunos que intentaron atajos.

Uno de los flagelos en EEUU en los años '30 era la Sífilis. Un nutrido grupo de sinvergüenzas con título, a falta de conejillos de indias empezaron a probar en humanos. El lugar elegido, el estado de Alabama, debido la mayor concentración de población afroamericana. Lo curioso es que no lo hicieron a escondidas, trabajaban para el "Departamento de Enfermedades Venéreas del Servicio Público de Salud de EEUU". Con total impunidad hasta le pusieron nombre "Experimento Tuskegee".

Como no eran animales, no los obligaron, los engañaron. Se les dijo que se les administraría una droga preventiva para la enfermedad.

Ante las primeras dudas le agregaron espejitos de colores, tratamiento médico gratuito, transporte a la clínica, comidas y un seguro de sepelio en caso de fallecimiento. Unos 600 varones infectados y sanos fueron convencidos. En ningún momento los médicos responsables se hicieron presentes, mandaban a la enfermera Eunice Rivers. Los doctores T. Clark, E. Dibble, K. Von Pereira Bailey, R. Vonderlehr y J. Heller, sometieron a los voluntarios a tratamientos tóxicos e ineficaces.

Luego de 15 años no obtuvieron ningún resultado alentador, los inoculados caían como moscas o la transmitían congénitamente a sus hijos. Para colmo un estudio más serio determina el éxito de la Penicilina en el tratamiento de la Sífilis.

En una reunión estos 6 genios llegaron a la conclusión que el fracaso se debía a los negros, no a sus limitaciones éticas y científicas. Para comprobarlo abrieron una investigación paralela en Guatemala donde ni siquiera les preguntaron, lo hicieron. Así fue como soldados, convictos, pacientes psiquiátricos, prostitutas y niños de orfanatos fueron inoculados con Sífilis para comprobar la efectividad de nuevos fármacos.

En 1966 el novato Dr Peter Buxtun descubre registros del experimento y ve con horror que seguía activo. Lo denuncia ante las autoridades pero luego de 6 años de inacción gubernamental Buxtun lo filtra a la prensa y ahora sí, indignación, pedidos de explicaciones y un juicio mediático. En el proceso hubo que escuchar como el Dr. John Heller decía “-La situación de esos hombres no justificaba el debate ético, ellos eran sujetos, no pacientes, eran material clínico, no personas enfermas”. Como era de prever, todos perdieron sus matrículas y se elaboró el “Informe Belmont" para dictar leyes de protección de pacientes. Hoy en día dentro del US Department of Health & Human Services, existe la OHRP que vigila todos los experimentos médicos dentro del territorio de los EEUU, por ello los laboratorios trasladaron sus experimentos a África, Asia y América Latina.

[posterboy4duality]

‘You’ve got bad blood’: The horror of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment

In the fall of 1932, the fliers began appearing around Macon County, Ala., promising “colored people” special treatment for “bad blood.”

“Free Blood Test; Free Treatment, By County Health Department and Government Doctors,” the black and white signs said. “YOU MAY FEEL WELL AND STILL HAVE BAD BLOOD. COME AND BRING ALL YOUR FAMILY.”

Hundreds of men — all black and many of them poor — signed up. Some of the men thought they were being treated for rheumatism or bad stomachs. They were promised free meals, free physicals and free burial insurance.

What the signs never told them was they would become part of the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male,” a secret experiment conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service to study the progression of the deadly venereal disease — without treatment.

On Tuesday, the Tuskegee History Center will mark the 20th anniversary of its founding and President Bill Clinton’s apology to the survivors of the experiment with a day-long program devoted to the fallout of the study. It destroyed the trust many African Americans held for medical institutions — a legacy that persists today.

[When Henrietta Lacks had cervical cancer, it was a ‘death sentence.’ Her cells would help change that.]

“These anniversaries offer a unique opportunity for us to remind America and the world of the medical injustice that occurred here in Macon County,” said Fred Gray, the civil rights attorney who brought a class-action lawsuit on behalf of unwitting study participants. “We have to continue to tell their story so that such injustices never happen again.”

Men who participated in the experiment, part of a collection photos in the National Archives labeled “Tuskegee Syphilis Study. 4/11/1953-1972.”

The study recruited 600 black men, of which 399 were diagnosed with syphilis and 201 were a control group without the disease. The researchers never obtained informed consent from the men and never told the men with syphilis that they were not being treated but were simply being watched until they died and their bodies examined for ravages of the disease.

Charles Pollard, one of the last survivors, recalled that he heard that men were receiving free physicals at a local one-room schoolhouse, according to the James H. Jones book “Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.”

“So I went over, and they told me I had bad blood,” Pollard remembered. “And that’s what they’ve been telling me ever since. They come around from time to time and check me over and they say, ‘Charlie, you’ve got bad blood.’ ”

In the book, Herman Shaw, a farmer, recounted hearing about the study as a kind of health care program. “People said you could get free medicine for yourself and things of that kind, and they would have a meeting at Salmon Chapel at a certain date.” So he went.

Initially, when the study began, treatment for syphilis was not effective, often dangerous and fatal. But even after penicillin was discovered and used as a treatment for the disease, the men in the Tuskegee study were not offered the antibiotic.

“All I knew was that they just kept saying I had the bad blood — they never mentioned syphilis to me. Not even once,” said Pollard, who added: “They been doctoring me off and on ever since then. And they gave me a blood tonic.”

Shaw explained: “We got three different types of medicine. A little round pill — sometime a capsule — sometime a little vial of medicine — everybody got the same thing.”

Although originally projected to last six months, the study extended for 40 years. “Local physicians asked to assist with study and not to treat men,” the Centers for Disease Control reported in a timeline of the experiment. “Decision was made to follow the men until death.”

Eunice Rivers, a local nurse, was recruited by doctors to serve as a recruiter and conduit between researchers and the men. Nurse Rivers, as she became known, kept records of the men and drove them to government doctors when they visited the community. She took them to doctors’ appointments in “a shiny station wagon with the government emblem on the front door, according to “Bad Blood.” On one occasion, she followed a man to a private doctor to make sure he did not receive treatment.

In 1945, according to the CDC timeline, penicillin was “accepted as treatment of choice for syphilis.” The U.S. Public Health Services created what they called “rapid treatment centers” to help men afflicted with syphilis — except the men in the Tuskegee study.

In 1966, a public health service investigator raised concerns about the study. Peter Buxtun wrote to the director of the U.S. division of venereal diseases about the ethics of the experiment. But the agency ignored Buxtun’s concerns.

Buxtun eventually leaked information about the study to an Associated Press reporter named Jean Heller, who years later called it “one of the grossest violations of human rights I can imagine.” On July 26, 1972, Heller’s story appeared on the front page of the New York Times, revealing that the men had deliberately been left untreated for 40 years.

[Syphilis victims in U.S. study went untreated for 40 years]

The study was finally brought to a halt, and the following year, a congressional subcommittee held hearings on the Tuskegee experiment.

In 1973, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the men in the study by Gray, the civil rights lawyer who had represented Rosa Parks. Pollard was among those he represented.

A $10 million out-of-court settlement was reached in the case. “The U.S. government promised to give lifetime medical benefits and burial services to all living participants,” the CDC reported.

In 1974, Congress passed the National Research Act, which was aimed at preventing the exploitation of human subjects by researchers.

On May 16, 1997, President Bill Clinton issued an apology to the eight remaining survivors of the experiment:

“The United States government did something that was wrong — deeply, profoundly, morally wrong,” Clinton said. “It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens. To the survivors, to the wives and family members, the children and the grandchildren, I say what you know: No power on Earth can give you back the lives lost, the pain suffered, the years of internal torment and anguish. What was done cannot be undone. But we can end the silence. We can stop turning our heads away. We can look at you in the eye and finally say on behalf of the American people, what the United States government did was shameful, and I am sorry.”

Herman Shaw, one of the last survivors of the Tuskegee study, raises his arms with praise as President Bill Clinton apologizes for the infamous experiment. (Susan Biddle/Washington Post)

[saltpeanutslive]

(Via r/todayilearned.)