Tuskegee Study Doctors Deliberately Withhold Penicillin from Syphilis Patients

By 1947, penicillin is the established standard of care for syphilis. Dr. John Heller of the U.S. Public Health Service and study directors continue the Tuskegee study without treating participants. Active steps are taken to prevent subjects from receiving treatment: local draft boards are given subjects' names to ensure they are not treated as part of WWII syphilis screening. Subjects are told they are receiving treatment for 'bad blood' when given placebos or vitamins. The deliberate deprivation of an established cure continues for 25 more years.