A recently published book that stands out in my mind these days is Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (Doubleday) by Harriet A. Washington. This book struck me as profound and groundbreaking in the information it presents relative to America’s health care system and statements I made in a previous blog about hospice care and people of color.
Medical Apartheid goes far beyond the well known Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Experiment, in which the U.S. Public Health Service allowed almost 400 black men with the disease to go untreated, while pretending to treat them. Ultimately, the men died and unauthorized autopsies were done as part of the experiment.
This book reveals numerous documented atrocities of involuntary experimentation targeting black people, including those in military and prison environments. Some incidents occurred as late as the 1990’s, such as the injection of Fenfluramine into black children in New York. This drug made up half of the deadly, discontinued weight-loss drug Fen-Phen and was used by Columbia researchers investigating the genetic origins of violence. Further emphasizing racial and ethnic disparities, the author mentions experimental research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
So many abusive incidents are mentioned, including several even worse than the Tuskegee experiments, it is little wonder that many people of color still regard the health care system, including hospice programs, with deep distrust. I agree with the author’s intent to present this well researched information, particularly those previously unpublished incidents, so we can all be more informed, vigilant, and empowered in our dealings with researchers and health care institutions.
You can read more about cradle-to-grave African American healthcare disparities at this blog post I wrote: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/african-american-pain-treatment-disparities-emergency-parker?trk=mp-author-card
Medical Apartheid goes far beyond the well known Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Experiment, in which the U.S. Public Health Service allowed almost 400 black men with the disease to go untreated, while pretending to treat them. Ultimately, the men died and unauthorized autopsies were done as part of the experiment.
This book reveals numerous documented atrocities of involuntary experimentation targeting black people, including those in military and prison environments. Some incidents occurred as late as the 1990’s, such as the injection of Fenfluramine into black children in New York. This drug made up half of the deadly, discontinued weight-loss drug Fen-Phen and was used by Columbia researchers investigating the genetic origins of violence. Further emphasizing racial and ethnic disparities, the author mentions experimental research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
So many abusive incidents are mentioned, including several even worse than the Tuskegee experiments, it is little wonder that many people of color still regard the health care system, including hospice programs, with deep distrust. I agree with the author’s intent to present this well researched information, particularly those previously unpublished incidents, so we can all be more informed, vigilant, and empowered in our dealings with researchers and health care institutions.
You can read more about cradle-to-grave African American healthcare disparities at this blog post I wrote: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/african-american-pain-treatment-disparities-emergency-parker?trk=mp-author-card
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer
in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book
editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
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