US apologizes for infecting Guatemalans with STDs in the 1940s
Friday, October 1, 2010 at 01:55PM CNN
Washington -- The United States apologized Friday for a 1946-1948 research study that purposely infected people in Guatemala with sexually transmitted diseases.
A statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called the action "reprehensible."
"We deeply regret that it happened, and we apologize to all the individuals who were affected by such abhorrent research practices," the joint statement said. "The conduct exhibited during the study does not represent the values of the United States, or our commitment to human dignity and great respect for the people of Guatemala."
Clinton called Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom on Thursday night to inform him, said Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela.
"They were obviously concerned about this information. They were saddened by it," Valenzuela said in a telephone news conference Friday.
Guatemalan officials took into account that the experiments occurred more than 60 years ago, Valenzuela said.
The study came to light recently when Wellesley College researcher Susan Reverby found the archived but unpublished notes from the project.
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