Inter Press Service examines regulations related to human medical research, writing that “experiments carried out by U.S. doctors in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948 using 1,300 human subjects who were infected with sexually transmitted diseases highlighted the inadequacy of controls and safeguards in clinical testing in this Central American country — still a major problem today, according to experts.”

The article discusses highlights from an August 29 meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, which was established by President Barack Obama to investigate the case and make recommendations for the U.S. on “how to better protect human subjects involved in international research” (Valladeres/Wilson, 9/9).