Original title: Philadelphia apologizes for unethical medical experiments, most of the subjects were African-American
The city of Philadelphia officially apologized on October 6 for unethical medical experiments conducted in a prison in the 20th century, mostly on African-American men.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, inmates at Philadelphia’s Holmesburg Prison were deliberately exposed to drugs, viruses, mold, asbestos, and even dioxins, according to a statement issued by the city of Philadelphia. Prisoners subjected to these experiments, overwhelmingly African-American, many illiterate, are in jail awaiting charges, trying to save up money to bail.
“This is yet another tragic example of disgraceful and unethical medical experimentation on people of color in American history,” the statement said.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said that although it happened decades ago, the historical impact and trauma caused by this practice of medical racism has persisted for generations, and it is necessary to reflect on past atrocities until today. “There is no excuse, We formally offer our sincere apologies to those who have suffered inhuman and horrific abuse.”
The experiments, reportedly conducted by University of Pennsylvania researcher Albert Kligman, involved dermatology, biochemistry and pharmaceutical research, and many prisoners were left with lifelong scars and health problems as a result of the experiments. Kligman passed away in 2010. The University of Pennsylvania issued an apology last year and removed Kligman’s name from some of the school’s honorary titles.
According to historical data, the U.S. federal government’s public health department began to cooperate with Tuskegee College in Alabama in 1932, recruiting hundreds of African-Americans as experimental subjects to study syphilis and its harm to the human body. Properly treat experimental subjects. It took 40 years for the experiment to be halted, and the White House issued a presidential apology for it.