Abstract
This video examines the ethical issues raised by the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (1932- 1972). Issues are presented through acted excepts from David Feldshuh's play Miss Evers' Boys and comments by nurses; physicians; government officials; James Jones, the author of Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment; and others. The commentators present many different perspectives on the Study and speak from a variety of disciplines. They disagree about the intent of the Tuskegee Study and the ethical concerns raised. The educational value lies in the intersection between the moral vision within the play and the very strong reactions of those who view the play as a description of social or inner reality. A 23 page study guide contains questions and discussion tied to the play segments and commentary. The guide was written by Larry I. Palmer, B.A., L.L.B., former Vice-President of Cornell University. Commentators include: Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Minnesota; John Cutler, M.D., M.P.H., Professor Emeritus in Public Health and physician in the U.S. Public Health Service from 1942-1967; David Feldshuh, M.D., Ph.D., author of Miss Evers' Boys, emergency medical physician and Ph.D. in theater; Johnny L. Ford, mayor of Tuskegee since 1972; Vanessa Northington Gamble, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine; James Lowell Gibbs, Jr., Ph.D., Martin Luther King Jr., Centennial Professor, Department of Anthropology, Stanford University; James A. Goodman, M.S.W., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Office of Managed Healthcare Systems, Inc.; Bill Jenkins Ph.D., M.P.H., epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control; James H. Jones, Ph.D., Professor of History at University of Houston and author of Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment; Charles Pollard, subject in the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male; Sandra Crouse Quinn, Ph.D., research associate at Westat, Inc. and former research associate at the Minority Health Research Laboratory at the University of Maryland; Herman Shaw, subject in the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male; Louis Sullivan, M.D., former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Stephen Thomas, Ph.D., director of the Minority Health Research Laboratory at the University of Maryland; Patricia Walker, R.N., former public health nurse.
