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The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Between 1932 and 1972, more than four hundred black men with syphilis were told they had "bad blood" at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute but were not given treatment even after a cure became available. Iinstead, they were studied by the U.S. Public Health Service and later the Centers for Disease Control to observe the long-term effects of syphilis.

Excerpts from "Remarks by the President
    in Apology for Study Done in Tuskegee"
The East Room, 2:26 p.m. EDT, May 16, 1997
President Bill Clinton

To see the complete speech, visit the National Archives by visiting
http://clinton4.nara.gov/textonly/New/Remarks/Fri/19970516-898.html.

THE PRESIDENT :  Ladies and gentlemen, on Sunday, Mr. Shaw will celebrate his ninety-fifth birthday.

(applause)

I would like to recognize the other survivors who are here today and their families: Mr. Charlie Pollard is here.

(applause)

Mr. Carter Howard.

(applause)

Mr. Fred Simmons.

(applause)

Mr. Simmons just took his first airplane ride, and he reckons he's about a hundred and ten years old, so I think it's time for him to take a chance or two.

(laughter)

I'm glad he did. And Mr. Frederick Moss, thank you, sir. . . .

(applause)

The eight men who are survivors of the syphilis study at Tuskegee are a living link to a time not so very long ago that many Americans would prefer not to remember, but we dare not forget. It was a time when our nation failed to live up to its ideals, when our nation broke the trust with our people that is the very foundation of our democracy. It is not only in remembering that shameful past that we can make amends and repair our nation, but it is in remembering that past that we can build a better present and a better future. And without remembering it, we cannot make amends and we cannot go forward.

So America does remember the hundreds of men used in research without their knowledge and consent. We remember them and their family members. Men who were poor and African-American, without resources and with few alternatives, they believed they had found hope when they were offered free medical care by the United States Public Health Service. They were betrayed.

Medical people are supposed to help when we need care, but even once a cure was discovered, they were denied help, and they were lied to by our government. Our government is supposed to protect the rights of its citizens; their rights were trampled on. Forty years, hundreds of men betrayed, along with their wives and children, along with the community in Macon County, Alabama, the City of Tusekegee, the fine university there, and the larger African-American community.

The United States government did something that was wrong -- deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens.

To the survivors, to the wives and family members, the children and the grandchildren, I say what you know: No power on Earth can give you back the lives lost, the pain suffered, the years of internal torment and anguish. What was done cannot be undone. But we can end the silence. We can stop turning our heads away. We can look at you in the eye and finally say on behalf of the American people, what the United States government did was shameful, and I am sorry.

(applause)

The American people are sorry--for the loss, for the years of hurt. You did nothing wrong, but you were grievously wronged. I apologize and I am sorry that this apology has been so long in coming. . . .

(applause)

. . . We face a challenge in our time. Science and technology are rapidly changing our lives with the promise of making us much healthier, much more productive and more prosperous. But with these changes we must work harder to see that as we advance we don't leave behind our conscience. No ground is gained and, indeed, much is lost if we lose our moral bearings in the name of progress.

The people who ran the study at Tuskegee diminished the stature of man by abandoning the most basic ethical precepts. They forgot their pledge to heal and repair. They had the power to heal the survivors and all the others and they did not. Today, all we can do is apologize. But you have the power, for only you -- Mr. Shaw, the others who are here, the family members who are with us in Tuskegee -- only you have the power to forgive. Your presence here shows us that you have chosen a better path than your government did so long ago. You have not withheld the power to forgive. I hope today and tomorrow every American will remember your lesson and live by it.

Thank you, and God bless you.