Unthinkable

IMAGE BY STEPHANE FROM PIXABAY

Sometimes I find myself revisiting themes from the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, because I relate to the desire to discover the unknown—to taste the mysterious, to test the limits of science just to see how far we can go. It’s exciting—a journey into the uncharted, especially when the cause is noble. For example, pushing the boundaries of science to discover better ways to help us live longer. But as thrilling as that may be, in the midst of it all, I become overcome by a gnawing sense of terror: maybe I’m stepping on forbidden ground.

Tread Softly

Is there a limit to how far we should explore science? Let’s put ethics aside for a moment and talk about human experiments—specifically genetic engineering. It’s been practiced for decades now, mostly involving animals, but we don’t hear much when it comes to human experimentation.

We’ve seen how cow genes have been modified to produce more milk than is natural. We’ve seen how it’s possible to modify cow genes so they produce milk more suitable for human consumption. That makes sense, right? If they produce more, then even the nutritional value of the milk must be more suitable for humans. We’ve seen modifications to make cattle or chickens have more meat. We’ve seen rats genetically modified to be more similar to humans so they can be used as guinea pigs in labs to study drug and disease responses. All of these, in fairness, are meant to better humanity—noble quests to solve real problems.

But I still can’t help feeling uneasy when I hear of experiments that just seem off—formation of chimeras, cloning, etc. The experiments themselves are questionable in intent, and I can’t help but think that someone out there is—or already has—experimented on humans. Because wherever there is power—in this case, information and knowledge—there is always the potential for abuse. Whether for selfish gain or pure curiosity, it can create monsters the entire world will have to pay for.

The question is simple: is there a point at which we say, “This is trending on dangerous grounds, and maybe we shouldn’t go further”?

The Point of No Return

Have we already crossed that line?

Whenever I look at what we do to animals, I can’t help but think that animal activists are right. We give diseases to animals to study how those diseases progress—some as horrible as cancer. We mutilate and disfigure animals, place them in horrible environments, and do all sorts of experiments on them in the name of science. But in all honesty, some—if not most—experiments on animals are the stuff of horror.

And what does that do to the animals? At this point, we treat them as irrelevant, even if we put ethics in place and sign a bunch of papers before conducting these experiments or establishing these labs.

But on the flip side, we benefit from these experiments—not just the curious scientists or doctors, but everyone. Even the most vehement animal activists still benefit from them. It’s like a funny scene I watched where a reporter was asking “tough” questions to a man who worked for an industry that exploits animals. And all the man had to do to shut down the interview was ask, “Aren’t you wearing leather shoes?” And that was it.

It’s a complicated situation, to say the least.

I was happy a few days ago when I attended a course that uses AI and machine learning to create models based on actual experiments. These models can be used to predict how animals or cells will respond to different stimuli—for example, how cells will respond to a drug. It’s a huge milestone in science—being able to use AI and machine learning to predict responses. This revolutionizes research and experimentation. Of course, it doesn’t completely remove the need for animal or human trials, but 100 years from now—if the world still exists—it will significantly reduce the number of animals subjected to experiments. And that’s a good thing.

A Dark History

If there’s an ounce of empathy in you, you have to agree with the animal activists. Animal cruelty is real. But also, the truth is—how do we get ahead if we don’t experiment?

Do you know how dark the history of medicine is?

We benefit from drugs today—antibiotics, psychiatric medications. We understand how the human body works. But trust me, our forefathers had to do the unthinkable. Some seriously nightmarish things were done to human bodies and people so we could enjoy the drugs and knowledge we have today. And we don’t even know what those privileges cost our forefathers.

Looking back, they could have done it a better way, of course. But I can’t help but imagine whether they did the best they could with what they had. That’s not a justification—far from it. But I’ve come to understand that it’s much easier to condemn people for what they did and still stand on high moral ground, even while we reap the benefits of the atrocities they committed.

Personally, I think I could have done better. But the truth is—that’s easier said than done.

Historical Examples of Unethical Medical Experiments

• Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932–1972)   600 Black men were studied without informed consent. Even after penicillin became the standard treatment in 1947, infected men were denied care. The study ended in 1972 following public outcry. A $10 million settlement and the Tuskegee Health Benefit Program were established. President Clinton issued a formal apology in 1997.

• Puerto Rico Birth Control Trials (1955–1956)   Poor, uneducated women were recruited without being told they were part of a clinical trial. Many experienced severe side effects, and three died—none of which were investigated.

• J. Marion Sims and Gynecological Surgery on Enslaved Women (1840s)   Sims operated on enslaved Black women without anesthesia, believing they had a higher pain tolerance. One woman, Anarcha, endured over 30 surgeries.

• Guatemala Syphilis Experiments (1946–1948)   U.S. researchers deliberately infected hundreds of Guatemalan prisoners, sex workers, and psychiatric patients with syphilis and gonorrhea—without consent. The U.S. formally apologized in 2010.

• Chester Southam’s Cancer Cell Injections (1950s–60s)   Southam injected live HeLa cancer cells into patients and prisoners without their knowledge. Some developed tumors. He was temporarily suspended but later became president of the American Association for Cancer Research.

• Leo Stanley’s Testicular Transplants at San Quentin Prison (1913–1951)   Stanley performed thousands of testicular surgeries on inmates, including transplants from executed prisoners and animals. Many procedures were painful and medically unsound.

• Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiments (1956–1970)   Children with intellectual disabilities were intentionally infected with hepatitis. Parents were pressured to consent in exchange for admission.

• Cincinnati Radiation Experiments (1960–1971)   Poor and mostly Black cancer patients were exposed to high doses of radiation under the guise of treatment. The real aim was to study radiation effects for warfare.

Food for Thought

Horror upon horrors… We truly do have a dark history. We’ve come a long way, and we can only hope we continue getting better.

Knowing what we know about the history of hepatitis, for example—if you an activist for justice and condemn what history underlies the knowledge that was gained and you are a doctor, are you going to use what we learned from those experiments to improve your practice? Or will you refuse to even look at the research or any spin-off from that understanding because you protest what they did? In using that information aren't we guilty of the same.... are we just like them but just better at rationalizing it?

References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). The Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee Timeline. [32]

• PBS. (n.d.). The Puerto Rico Pill Trials. American Experience. [6]

• History.com  Editors. (2025). The ‘Father of Modern Gynecology’ Performed Shocking Experiments on Enslaved Women. [38]

• Britannica. (2024). Guatemala syphilis experiment. [22]

• AHRP. (2014). Dr. Chester Southam injected live cancer cells into 22 elderly patients. [14]

• SFGATE. (2022). The San Quentin prison doctor who performed over 10,000 human experiments. [63]

• UAMS Research Ethics. (2023). Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiments Summary. [46]

• Wikipedia. (2024). Cincinnati Radiation Experiments. [54]