Tuskegee Syphilis Study Ad Hoc Advisory Panel

Beginning in 1932, the Public Health Service began a study of the effects of untreated syphilis on black men in Macon County, Alabama. On August 24, 1972 Merlin K. DuVal, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, announced the appointment of an ad hoc panel headed by Broadus N. Butler, president of Dillard University, to investigate the study. The panel was empowered to explore whether the study was justified, whether it should be continued, and if existing H.E.W. regulations properly protected the rights of patients. The final report of the panel was delivered on April 28, 1973.