Question

What underlying false belief about the status and value of black Americans supported the actions of the Tuskegee Study researchers?

Answer 1

The infamous Tuskegee Syphilis trials was a regressive trial not only in terms of its scientific merit but also in terms of medical ethics but also for racial and ethnic discrimination between the black African-american community. The following are the false belifes about the status and value of black Americans supported the actions of the Tuskegee Study researchers as follows:

1. Racial discrimination: In the 1930's era the racial disparity in terms of carrying out scientific experimentation based on the fact that a particular race (Members of the African American community) have less or no access to healthcare and have larger prevalence of syphilis. This discrimination transcended into recruitment and focus of the study on black African-American community

2. Bad blood theory: The recruited members for the Tuskegee Syphilis trials was selected due to false belief that the black African-American community has "Bad blood". Bad blood was associated as a collective illness which included syphilis, anemia, etc and bad blood was the major reason of death within the southern African-American community was falsely stated false belief about the status and value of black Americans

3. Unscientific comparison: Before the Tuskegee Syphilis trials a similar trial on untreated syphilis was conducted in white males in Oslo, Norway could provide a basis for comparison to black population. The Study physician D.C. Taliaferro Clark ahd false belief that Syphilis affected the black community more and had different effect on Caucasians.

4. Irrational logic: The ethical and moral disparity was apparent among the study physician and the scientific logic was irrational about the prevalence and treatment of socially backward black community. This logic of social and racial disparity was somehow connected to a sexually transmitted disease targeting a specific black population led to Tuskegee Syphilis trials

5. Social disparity: The social structure and the lens the black community members were seen by white study organizers as "Expendable" test subjects and heir fundamental rights as humans and moral disparity led the for Tuskegee Syphilis trials organizers to have misguided and false conceptions against black African-american community as trial subjects.