The United States today officially apologized for (unethically) experimenting on a number of Guatemalan people who were intentionally infected with sexually transmitted diseases to study the efficacy of penicillin. The apology was offered to the nation and people of Guatemala, especially those deliberately infected.
The apology came from President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Sebelius.
"The scientific investigation, called the U.S. Public Health Service Sexually Transmitted Disease Inoculation Study of 1946-1948, aimed to gauge the effectiveness of penicillin to treat syphilis, gonorrhea and chancres."
When I heard about this story I was horrified. Even in 1945 and 1946, shouldn't we have known it was unethical to perform medical experiments on unknowing, unwilling human beings?
These experiments exhibited a dehumanization and utter disregard of the victims' rights. I, for one, am embarrassed. But I am glad we finally apologized.
I think we sometimes forget that we tend to view our country differently than those in other parts of the world. Some, I am sure, covet our way of life, our freedom, and/or our relatively peaceful political process. But others probably see us as arrogant, self-righteous, and overbearing. To some extent I suppose all of these characteristics have been exhibited by our government and by us at different times.
As a nation we are as imperfect as we each are as individuals. And one of the most important lessons we learn as adults is to take responsibility and apologize when we make a mistake, or even when we regret some intentional act that harmed someone else. Throughout our history, we have made mistakes. Perhaps our willingness to apologize shows we are finally growing up as a nation. I hope so.
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