A History of Unethical Research

• In the USA, before the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed in 1906 there were no regulations on performing research on humans.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-72)• 600 black men over 40 • 400 had syphilis yet were

not told they had it. • Denied treatment • Many died during study. • President Clinton

apologized to all of those affected and their families in 1997.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-YMdaEdbcg (6:34) The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Nuremberg Code (POST WWII)• Laws put in place after the

Nazi experiments of WWII were uncovered

• Researchers now must have consent from their human subjects

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GdrWIJpY2M (10:00) National History Day 2013- State competition- The Nuremberg Code

"The Nazi physicians performed brutal medical experiments upon helpless concentration camp inmates. These acts of torture were characterized by several shocking features: (1) persons were forced to become subjects in very dangerous studies against their will; (2) nearly all subjects endured incredible suffering, mutilation, and indescribable pain; and (3) the experiments often were deliberately designed to terminate in a fatal outcome for their victims" (Cohen).

Stanley Milgram Experiment (1962)

• Obedience to authority• Electric Shock Consequences• Connections to WWII• Yale University

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOYLCy5PVgM (5:04) Milgram Experiment- Big History NL, threshold 6https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-fQnltrg6w (9:34) Derren Brown- Milgram Experiment

Ethical?

Zimbardo Prison Experiment (1972)

• Stanford University• Mock prison• Examining Roles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=760lwYmpXbc (29:00) The Stanford Prison Experiment. Skip 2:45-4:45 about Milgram

And now…

Institutional Review Board (IRB) established in 1974 by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare that these unlawful experiments against humans came to a halt.