1932–1972
Medical abuseSupplement
Untreated syphilis study at Tuskegee
Alabama; Black men and their families
Federal researchers studied men without informed consent and withheld effective treatment even after it became available. The study exploited racial and economic inequality and continued for forty years.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
The men were not deliberately infected by this study; the abuse included deception and withholding treatment.