Clinical Experiments In Nazi Germany

During this time period, the human experimentations operated by the Nazi Party was the most heightened point of medicine pessimism. Jews in the camps were used as the research subjects for clinical experiments that could benefit the Nazi Party war soldiers’ conditions, or just to further emphasizing the eugenic pillar (Gere). As the result, the US turned its back to eugenics mainly because it was supported by Germany, its opponent during the war (Gere). After the victory of the Allied, the Nuremberg Doctors’ Trial was implemented to bring justice and executing war criminals (Gere). Many Nazi Party’s doctors had to pay for their crimes as the price for their barbaric experiments on human (Gere). As the result, the Nuremberg code was imposed as the first attempt for the medical ethnic regulation (Gere).

Yet, it was too early for the assumption that the public’s awareness on unethical clinical experiment had improved.

The US legislation and regulation on the clinical practices were unfortunately too liberated. American health professions did not obey the ethical demand until almost the end of the century (Gere). Many non-consensual experiments in the US were proceeded with baffled number of death that caused a stir in the civil right movement. For example, Guatemala syphilis study conducted by Juan Funes and Cutlet has resulted almost 100 deaths (Gere). They came up with an experimental design to test the effect of penicillin by paying, from the research fund, an infected prostitute to have sex with the prisoners. However, the transmission rate through sexual intercourse was inefficient for the research to have significant data. Thus, they switched to the direct inoculation method, in which they would inject the pus of syphilis and gonorrhea into the research subjects. Only less than half of the research subjects were cured by the end of 2 years, resulting the chronic disease in the other half and even deaths

(Gere).
In another infamous medical trial, the Tuskegee Study has persisted for almost forty years from 1934 to 1972 until it was known to the public (Gere). The study of syphilis had conducted with placebo effect by not letting the subjects know that they were prevented from the real syphilis treatment. The study was disguised as free health assessment to the targeted population (Gere). Racial superiority was utilized, in which the doctors would meet with local black physicians and asked them not to treat the subjects. As the results, not only the research subjects faced the lethal consequences but their wives and children also got affected. Apparently, the public was outrage after the study was revealed, leading to the government adoption of the Patient’s Bill of Rights that required for the informed consent (Gere).