MEMORANDUM FOR DR. AMY GUTMANN Chair, Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues SUBJECT: Review of Human Subjects Protection

Abstract

Recently, we discovered that the U.S. Public Health Service conducted research on sexually transmitted diseases in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948 involving the intentional infection of vulnerable human populations. The research was clearly unethical. In light of this revelation, I want to be assured that current rules for research participants protect people from harm or unethical treatment, domestically as well as internationally.