Tuskegee University

is a debilitating disease that can leave its victims with permanent neurological damage and horrifying scars. Penicillin was discovered in 1927 and it was being used to treat human disease by the early 1940s. In 1947 it had become the gold standard in treating syphilis and often only required one intramuscular dose to eliminate the disease. The researchers were well aware of this information and in order to continue their experiments, they chose to withhold the life-saving treatment. The researchers proceeded to actively deter study participants from obtaining penicillin from other physicians. The patients were told that they had "bad blood". This experiment was conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service. This was a direct violation of the Hippocratic Oath; however, not a single researcher was legally punished. Academic research has shown that the study had long-term, damaging effects on black men's health, and the health of their families and contributed to mistrust of white medical professionals among black …