Crossing ethical boundaries: Chinese coronavirus experiments and historical parallels

The news about Chinese coronavirus research provoked significant controversy and attracted widespread criticism. The lab-engineered strain is characterized by an extremely high fatality rate and rapid infection progression.

The study, conducted on genetically modified mice, has been presented by its authors as providing a "unique model for understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of viruses linked with SARS-CoV-2".

The research results - although not officially published yet - have sparked concern and criticism from around the globe. Critics question not only the purpose of such experiments but, above all, the risks they involve, which - in their view - are not offset by the knowledge thus gained.

The Chinese studies and the resulting dialogue have attracted worldwide attention primarily due to sensationalist (but misguided) information about the creation of a virus strain with a 100 percent fatality rate. This is not the sole instance where researchers undertake potentially perilous or - at least - odd endeavors in the name of progress and science. What do we know about such cases?

Perhaps the most infamous of these is the "Tuskegee Experiment" - a study carried out over nearly 40 years, instated in the 1930s by the American Public Health Service to study the progression of untreated syphilis.

The study involved a group of 600 black farmers, some of whom had syphilis, with the unaffected participants forming the control group. The truly tragic and inhumane aspect of the study was the deliberate withholding of treatment from some participants, leading not only to their deaths but also to further infections within their families.

The experiment resulted in the death of around 100 people who didn't receive the available treatment during the study. As the scandal became public, the families of the victims received compensation.

American authorities implemented the National Research Act to prevent similar circumstances in the future. This law regulates the conduct of medical research involving humans and mandates oversight by government institutions.

Presumably less tragic but just as controversial was the execution of the CIA's Operation Midnight Climax. The goal was to assess people's vulnerability - representing a broad cross-section of society - to specific information-extraction tactics.

The program launched in 1954, depended on cooperating with prostitutes, who in CIA-run brothels drugged their clients with psychotropic substances like LSD, persuading them to divulge various secrets.

All were observed by agents concealed behind Venetian mirrors. Some victims were suggested to commit serious crimes, including murders.

The program ended in the mid-60s. The procedures, which involved administering psychoactive substances to unaware people, are linked with the rise of the countercultural movement in areas including San Francisco, where Operation Midnight Climax took place.

Within this context, the MKUltra program, which explored the possibility of influencing brain function, subliminal perception, or mind control with various tools, is also worth mentioning.

The experiments above were conducted in the United States, but it can be assumed that equally controversial research was conducted in different parts of the world. The disproportionate representation of the USA results from democratic processes and the rule of law, which necessitate the disclosure of various institutional activities.

It's only speculation whether similar experiments occurred in countries like the Soviet Union or Russia due to the absence of trustworthy documentation. However, there is plenty of documentation regarding incredibly dark historical events committed by scientists from Germany and Japan.

Sigmund Rascher, who conducted experiments in Dachau, and Shiro Ishii, who led the notorious Japanese Unit 731, carried out unimaginably horrific studies on prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates during World War II.

Despite their undeniable responsibility for the suffering and death of countless people, some of these experiment orchestrators managed to evade punishment. Their impunity was ensured by preserving and later making available documentation from the conducted studies, such operations being unimaginable in countries that at least nominally respect human rights.