US apologizing for medical experiments on Guatemalans

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Things have been pretty hectic here, and also kind of rainy, very muddy and depressing, so while I've been working hard on HIV workshops, my SPA (Small Project Assistant) grant from USAID and of course university applications, I haven't felt very inspired to write about any of it.

However recently some very disturbing news has come out, it turns out that in the 1940's American researchers working with the government in Guatemala infected about 700 Guatemalans, without their knowledge or consent, with gonorrhea and syphilis.

It seems that the people infected were those most vulnerable, including prostitutes, inmates and patients in mental institutions. The point of the experiment was to see how effective penicillin can be in preventing syphilis infections. While the Sec. of State has issued an apology, saying, "the research conducted in Guatemala between 1946 and 1948 was clearly unethical...Although these events occurred more than 64 years ago, we are outraged that such reprehensible research could have occurred under the guise of public health." It doesn't seem like enough.

Who is going to stand up for the rights of these people who were so inhumanly treated? The Guatemalan government says it will try to see that the families of those infected will be compensated, but by whom, and when?

It seems that this is just another example of those who have, taking advantage of those who don't have, and while yes, the incident was exposed. It took almost 70 years to do so, and those with the most guilt, did get away with what they did, and remember, this occurred at a time, when the United States was reprimanding Germany for medically experimenting on their POWs, how is this any different?

To read the BBC news article on the incident, click here.