Peter Buxtun

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Person.png Peter Buxtun  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(researcher, whistleblower)
Peter Buxtun.jpg
Born1937
Prague
NationalityUS
ExposedTuskegee syphilis experiment
Blew the whistle on the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.

Peter Buxtun blew the whistle on the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.

Career

Buxtun, then a 27-year-old social worker and epidemiologist in San Francisco,[1] was hired by the Public Health Service in December 1965[2] to interview patients with sexually transmitted diseases; in the course of his duties, he learned of the Tuskegee Experiment from co-workers. He later said—"I didn't want to believe it. This was the Public Health Service. We didn't do things like that."[1] In November 1966, he filed an official protest on ethical grounds with the Service's Division of Venereal Diseases; this was rejected on the grounds that the Experiment was not yet complete. He filed another protest in November 1968; again, his concerns were ruled irrelevant.[3]

In 1972, Buxtun leaked information on the Tuskegee Experiment to Jean Heller of the Washington Star. Heller's story exposing the Experiment was published on July 25, 1972; It became front-page news in the New York Times the following day. Senator Edward Kennedy called Congressional hearings, at which Buxtun and HEW officials testified and the Experiment was terminated shortly thereafter.[4] Buxtun subsequently testified at the ensuing Congressional hearing.

In May 1999, Buxtun attended the launch of a memorial center and public exhibit to the experiment in Tuskegee.[5]

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References

  1. a b Heller, Jean (July 20, 1997). "The legacy of Tuskegee". St Petersburg Times. p. 1D
  2. Rubin, Allen; Babbie, Earl R. (2005). Research Methods for Social Work. Thomson Wadsworth. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-534-62109-4 https://books.google.com/books?id=eAdbEn-yZbcC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=%22peter+buxtun%22+syphilis
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20070701074701/http://minority-health.pitt.edu/archive/00000393/01/The_Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study_1932_to.pdf
  4. Stryker, Jeff (13 April 1997). "Tuskegee's long arm still touches a nerve".
  5. "Center launched as training tool". Associated Press. May 17, 1999