US medical experiments in Guatemala killed many people

August 30th, 2011 - 11:35 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt  

Washington, Aug 30 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A US panel has concluded that the country should create a system to compensate victims who participated in a scientific research that left some Guatemalans with sexually transmitted diseases. The recommendation was contained in a report which was presented on Tuesday.

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues was tasked to investigate the deadly research in Guatemala in the 1940s that left several people infected with syphilis, gonorrhea and chancroid. The panel concluded that the doctors who carried out the research knew the consequences of their actions and went ahead with it.

Amy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania is the chairperson of the panel. She announced at a press briefing that, “The panel felt strongly that it was wrong and a mistake that the United States was an outlier in not specifying any system for compensation for research subjects other than, ‘You get a lawyer and sue,’”

It has been identified that about 5,500 men were deliberately infected during the experiments which took place between 1946 and 1948. The experiments were kept a secret until October 2010 when it was leaked to the public. The US has since apologized for the act.

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