The men in the Tuskegee study were being treated for "bad blood"
| The men in the Tuskegee study were being treated for "bad blood" | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "The Black men enrolled in the US Public Health Service study at Tuskegee were receiving free medical treatment for "bad blood."" | |
| Domain | Health & Medicine |
| Tactic | Fabrication |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 1932 |
| Origin | US Public Health Service researchers, who told participants they were being treated, from 1932 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-30 |
| Further reading: books on Health & Medicine | |
From 1932 to 1972, the US Public Health Service ran a study in Macon County, Alabama, observing the effects of untreated syphilis in about 600 Black men, roughly 400 of whom had the disease. The men were told they were being treated for "bad blood," a local term for several ailments, and were offered free meals, medical exams and burial insurance.
They were not treated for syphilis, even after penicillin became the standard cure in the 1940s.
What the evidence shows
- Deception. Researchers gave the men placebos and diagnostic procedures, such as spinal taps, described as treatment. They worked to stop participants from receiving penicillin elsewhere.
- Exposure. Associated Press reporter Jean Heller broke the story in July 1972, based on information from Public Health Service employee Peter Buxtun. The study ended that year.
- Harm. Many participants died of syphilis or related complications, and wives and children were infected.
- Apology. President Bill Clinton formally apologized on behalf of the nation on May 16, 1997.
Why it matters
The study deceived its subjects about their own illness for 40 years. It led to major reforms in research ethics, including informed consent rules, and it still shapes distrust of medicine among Black Americans.
Gaslighting Men were told they were being treated while researchers withheld treatment, deceiving them about their own illness: medical gaslighting. The word comes from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gas Light and the 1944 film Gaslight, in which a husband dims the gas lamps and insists his wife is imagining it. Where the word comes from · More gaslighting cases
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "The U.S. Public Health Service Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee," timeline.
- Jean Heller, "Syphilis Victims in U.S. Study Went Untreated for 40 Years," Associated Press, July 25, 1972.
- President William J. Clinton, remarks in apology for the study done in Tuskegee, May 16, 1997.