Is it hard to figure out that it is wrong to use defenseless foster kids as guinea pigs, pumping their little bodies full of powerful and toxic drugs? Well, The US Dept. of Health concluded that some of these AIDS tests violated rules because proper consent wasn't sought out.
The rules state that researchers must seek consent from independent advocates when experiments pose more than a minimal risk and do not hold the likelihood of improved health.
Hundreds (maybe thousands) of HIV-positive, mostly black and Hispanic kids, some as young as 3 months were given experimental AIDS treatments. There was no advocate to say in each case whether or not these drugs should be administered. They just were.
Although it seemed like a good thing at the time, because of free treatments and research funding, the end result is extremely sad: "patients suffered side effects such as rashes, vomiting and sharp drops in infection-fighting blood cells, and one reported a 'disturbing' higher death rate among children who took higher doses of a drug."
When people are vulnerable and can't fight for themselves, this is what happens?
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