Ethics : Morals And Ethics

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was an experiment on African American males and the effects of untreated syphilis. When the study began in 1932, the men were not fully aware of what the doctors were “treating” them with. They were wrongly informed that they were receiving treatments for “bad blood”. In reality, about 600 Alabama participants were infected with syphilis. Unfortunately, as these men were not aware of the virus they carried, they infected their loved ones as well. The men in this study were drawn in by the promise of medical benefits and more. As the study continued on, penicillin was found to be a cure for syphilis in 1947. However, it was withheld from these men and they continued to suffer unnecessarily. Finally, in 1972 the truth

In 1932, the Public Health Service (PHS) began a study in the Tuskegee Institute to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes for finding treatment programs for blacks. It was called “Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis in the negro male”. The experiment was conducted on a group of 399 poor and illiterate African American sharecroppers. This disease was not however, revealed to them by the US government. The sharecroppers were told they were going to receive treatment for bad blood. The study that was carried out proved to be one of the most horrifying studies carried out that disregarded the basic ethical principles of conduct, it disregarded human life especially the African American life, blacks were not considered patients but subjects, they were considered as clinical materials instead of sick people. The Tuskegee experiment was identified as “the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history”.

Ethics are statements written that mirrors the principles of society it reflects society’s views of what is right or humanitarian. However, morals are not written and are codes setting out what is thought to be good enough or offensive behaviour.

When people think of ethics and morality, they generally assume that they completely understand and know the exact definitions of each term, but they realize that this is not the case when they begin to explore these concepts in depth. Ethics is a type of expected actions or behavior in society while morality is about what it is like to be behaving “good” or “bad” (evil) in individual beings. Yes, they do look similar, but once you try to understand the meaning in depth, you will realize they have critical differences, and have their own advantages and disadvantages.

In the year 1932, the Public Health Service began a study to observe the natural course of syphilis in the black population in hopes of justifying treatment for these individuals (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). The Public Health Service performed the study with the help of the Tuskegee Institute, and thus, the study was titled “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” (CDC, 2013 n.p.). The study involved 399 black men with syphilis and 201 without syphilis. Although the men were told they were being treated for “bad blood,” a term describing many conditions including syphilis, they never actually received any treatment. Therefore, the study was performed without true informed consent from any of the patients.

The Tuskegee syphilis study involved 600 African American men. In this controversial study 399 had syphilis and 201 did not. This was a study conducted without any informed consent. They were intentionally misled to believe that they were being treated for “bad blood” a term they had come to recognize during this era. This deception allowed the test subjects to believe that they possibly had anemia and fatigue which was included with syphilis. During this study they were not permitted to receive any adequate treatment for the disease. They were never counseled on the intent or purpose of the study. Even after the penicillin was introduced as the cure drug for syphilis they were still denied proper treatment for the disease. In spite of the constant studies that favored treating syphilis even in the latest stages of the infection there was no consideration to try and eradicate this illness in the test subjects.

The Tuskegee syphilis study was a clinical experiment that occurred in the early 1930’s were the government basically used African American males as guinea pigs by injecting them with the syphilis virus untreated. The purpose of the experiment was to test African American reaction to syphilis because according to medical research whites and blacks reacted differently. The virus made them severely ill and even caused death. The government convinced African Americans that they had bad blood and didn’t inform them that they were being tested. Also the experiment was meant to last for 6 months instead it went on for forty years! Today this virus is known as one of many sexually transmitted diseases and is rare in the U.S.

Since my journey here at Bryant began in September, I have changed so much. Coming here, I expected certain things such as my study habits, daily routine and friend group to be altered. One change I was not anticipating making was my approach to ethics. Over the course of the past fifteen weeks, my knowledge of ethics as well as my approach to ethics has changed. I have become more knowledgeable about the different approaches to ethics and have gained insight as to where I stand in my approach to ethics.

Ethics in the modern world is met with ambiguity and a vague sense of understanding. One group may define as ³what my feelings tell me is right wrong´ while others may describe ethics as the ³standards of behavior our society accepts´ (Velasquezet al, 1987). These answers may be typical of many people in the world today. Ethics are not ubiquitous because they stem from the realm of moral grounds and morals are not globally accepted nor understood. Ethical standards are more prevalent in the United States than in other countries, due in part to government as well as non-government agencies that have been established to monitor and advise on issue related to ethics in business, education, etc.

Morals, on the other hand, are an individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong. They are for a single person’s internal use and often change with an individual’s beliefs. Another difference pertains to the creation, use, and when/how the two present themselves to humans. Ethics are more

The blight on human history known as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was on all counts an immoral and unethical research study. Public Health Services were the ones conducting the experiment, which went on for years (from 1932 to 1972) and throughout the entire thing human beings were used as laboratory animals (The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, 2000). Unfortunately, this study was conducted when racism was still common, meaning that the human “lab rats” were poor black men, because they were seen as lesser beings. These men were lied to in order to ensure their cooperation with the study. The lies told to them included the omission of what was actually wrong with them, instead of telling the victims that they had syphilis it

“Great individuals have great ethics and great values.” Ethics and morality can be used interchangeably as they sound as if they mean the same although there is a wide distinction between them. “Strictly speaking, morality is used to refer to what we would call moral standards and moral conduct while ethics is used to refer to the formal study of those standards and conduct. For this reason, the study of ethics is also often called moral philosophy." (Gordana D 2007)

Human behavior and activities are tightly controlled by various rules and regulations within the society. More often there are extra-constitutional laws controlling different activities for selected groups of individuals. Such include: Religious groups, societal and other set conventions defined to be followed and adhered to by a specific group of people. Widely applied is the rule of ethics, which refers to properly founded standards and principles that outline the virtue of wrong or right doing in a society. A lot of controversies has arisen about the ethical considerations of emerging trends in the society. The new trends include the use of contraceptives for birth control and consumption

Morals are the intrinsic beliefs developed from the value systems of how we 'should' behave in any given situation. Ethics, on the other hand, are how we behave in the face of difficult situations (Bottorff, 2005).

Ethics is defined as moral principles of conduct, which people usually agree with. Unlike in law there is no punishment involved in ethical values, if you don't follow according with the standards. There are many things that influence ethical behaviour. These can be personal reflection, religious beliefs, culture, experiences and family influences. If broadly speaking, ethics is the science or study of the morality of how humans act through the medium of natural reason.