Sunday Read: Honoring Medical Whistleblower Peter Buxtun
The whistleblower community lost a pivotal figure in May when Peter Buxtun, 86, passed away due to a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Buxtun made a huge impact on the whistleblower landscape by coming forward about one of the most significant acts of fraud and scientific cruelty in the history of the United States.
In this Sunday Read, National Whistleblower Center (NWC) commemorates his life and also shines a spotlight on another modern hero who blew the whistle on medical fraud and abuse.
A Brief Overview of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, officially titled “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male,” was conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). The study involved 600 African American men, 399 with syphilis and 201 without the disease.
The purpose of the study was to observe the natural progression of untreated syphilis. The men were misled and not informed about their condition, nor were they given proper treatment, even after penicillin became the standard cure for syphilis in the 1940s. James H. Jones wrote Bad Blood, which detailed the history of the experiment, its effects and aftermath. In the 1981 book, Jones noted explained that syphilis cases in Georgia were increasing during the formative years of the study.
“Macon County had by far the highest incidence of syphilis that the Public Health Service had uncovered anywhere in the South during the syphilis control demonstrations.”
The originator of the study, Dr. Taliaferro Clark referred to the prevalence rate as incredibly high at 35%. “Assuming this figure held true for black people in the remainder of the country,” Jones wrote in Bad Blood, “investigators could expect to find an ample supply of subjects for the study.”
The Tuskegee study was conducted unethically, as the participants were neither informed nor consented to the lack of treatment.
Peter Buxtun’s Whistleblowing and Aftermath
Buxtun first raised concerns about the ethical implications of the study in the mid-1960s. He had served in the U.S. Army as a combat medic and psychiatric social worker and joined the federal health service in 1965. Working as a PHS venereal disease investigator, he questioned the morality of not treating the men and reported his concerns to his superiors.
His concerns were initially dismissed by the PHS, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and study continued despite knowing its ethical breaches.
The inaction of federal agencies ate away at Buxtun, who eventually leaked information about the study to the press. In 1972, he shared the details with a reporter from the Associated Press, Jean Heller, who published an exposé that led to public outrage and the study’s termination.
“Indeed,” Jones wrote, “officials presented no evidence that the pros and cons of treatment were ever discussed by the experiment’s organizers.”
The exposure of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study had profound implications, leading to a major overhaul in research ethics and the establishment of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. It also significantly heightened African Americans’ cynicism of the medical community.
In 1973, a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the study participants and their families. It resulted in a $10 million settlement by the end of 1974 and the promise of lifetime medical benefits and burial services to all surviving participants. The task of finding the surviving members and their families was daunting, as many unwitting participants had passed away by the time of the resolution in 1974. Adjusted for inflation, the settlement equals nearly $75 million in 2024.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton formally apologized to the few remaining survivors of the study, and on behalf of the U.S. publicly called “shameful and racist.”
A whistleblower’s life can take unexpected turns following their involvement. Buxtun was rightly and largely embraced by the public as well as the medical community and the government.
PBS noted that Buxtun went on to write, give presentations and win awards for his involvement in the Tuskegee study. On Nov. 4, 2019, Buxtun was inducted as an honorary member of Delta Omega, the honorary society in public health.
“Mr. Buxtun’s contributions to the medical and whistleblower communities are rightfully celebrated,” said NWC Executive Director Siri Turner. “His bravery and moral compass should serve as an example for all who see a miscarriage of justice or unethical behavior, especially in the medical field.”
Recalling A Modern Medical Whistleblower
Peter Buxtun’s passing appropriately brings the discussion to another medical whistleblower who, also uncovered a medical study that affected the black community.
Dr. Duane Bonds is a medical officer who had worked under National Institute of Health’s National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) since 1990. She is best known as a sickle cell disease researcher who blew the whistle on improper cloning of blood cell lines.
Dr. Bonds learned that blood from African-American infants was taken from participants enrolled in the clinical trial for which she was the project officer, but without proper informed consent in order to create immortalized cell lines for future scientific study. Dr. Bonds was shocked when she learned of the unauthorized cloning and, as the project officer ordered the immediate destruction of all of the improperly created cell lines. Bonds’ supervisor, Dr. Charles Peterson, interceded and overruled Bonds’ order. Dr. Bonds subsequently brought her concerns to NHLBI’s director who initially agreed with her, but ultimately failed to take steps to destroy the cell lines.
Dr. Bonds decided to report the existence of the illegally cloned cell lines to the federal Office of Special Counsel (OSC). The OSC concluded that NHLBI’s failure to destroy the cell lines violated federal law and issued a report to the President to that effect. In the midst of the OSC investigation, NHLBI illegally searched Dr. Bonds’ emails with her attorney and located a copy of the OSC complaint, and then hired an outside attorney and spent more than $100,000 of taxpayer money to conduct the investigation that led to her termination.
Dr. Bonds was represented by Michael Kohn, NWC co-founder and a partner with Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, LLP, who filed a whistleblower case and discrimination case, which were consolidated into one and filed in U.S. District Court. As Kohn described in Rules for Whistleblowers: A Handbook for Doing What’s Right, “This procedure is known as a ‘mixed case.’ The laws governing mixed cases are complex…” and were decided by the Fourth Circuit.
In January 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of Dr. Duane Bonds, clearing the way for her to proceed with her claim that the National Institutes of Health fired her in retaliation for blowing the whistle on the improper cloning of cell lines without consent.
“This decision expands the rights of some federal workers to pursue their whistleblower claims in federal district courts around the country,” Kohn said in 2011. “Unfortunately, since Congress continues to treat federal employees as second-class citizens this right is only available to federal employees who are able to bring a race, sex, age, national origin or religion claim in conjunction with a whistleblower claim. Otherwise, a federal employee has no right to a federal court hearing.”
Dr. Bonds had a right to a jury trial on her claims under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). Subsequently, her case was successfully settled, and Dr. Bonds was fully vindicated.
Study Time With Buds and Suds
NWC continues its hot streak with events to mark on your calendar. On August 19th, NWC will host its monthly Bar Trivia fundraiser!
The fun begins at 6 PM ET at Sudhouse DC (1340 U Street NW). Broaden your network and put your knowledge to work. Everyone will enjoy happy hour-priced food and drink, invaluable networking opportunities and the winners will go home with gift cards, books, and other fun prizes. Get your tickets on Eventbrite today.
Support NWC
NWC fights to bolster whistleblower programs and raise awareness about the value of whistleblowers. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit our work is made possible with the support of our generous donors. Please consider donating $100 today to help us continue to educate the public about whistleblower experiences and the role whistleblowers play in putting an end to fraud and money laundering. Donors of $100 or more will receive a copy of Rules for Whistleblowers: A Handbook for Doing What’s Right.
This story was written by Justin Smulison, a professional writer, podcaster, and event host based in New York.
