Bad Medicine

Reading through this selection, I noticed the phrase "greater good", which many people including doctors, government officials and the general public itself use to justify their action. As described in the reading, one of the largest experiments that were conducted was under the supervision of the Federal government. Many of these experiments were also done in local communities with the approval of state governments. Yet, no one questions the ethical consequences of these decisions. Many things shocked me when it came to the risks that came along with these tests. How can you validate the basic rights of the mentally sick individuals, and put their life in danger in the name of science? How could they claim they received the consent of these people while acknowledging they are unable to even make a rational decision.
It even got worse when I learned that infants who are as young as one month, are put to the test and injected with radioactive compounds that are basically killing them slowly.
This practice does not only validate their rights as American under the constitution, but it is an abomination to every right as a human being. The bigger horror of these stories is the lack of knowledge of the public, and the refusal of many people to ignore the facts and live in complete ignorance of what's happening around them. It makes me think, did humanity even exist during that time? Was the suffering and the killing of these people under the shield of "greater good" worth it?
Going back to the Pox Party, and what the college of lucidity have done to Octavian and his mother, I noticed that the "mad doctor"theme is not hidden, or feared. Instead, it is supported by the high social elites and governments who are in control, in order to gain more dominance and knowledge under the name of science for their "greater good".