Two City Council members are calling on the New York City Department of Investigation to probe a series of clinical trials that gave potentially toxic experimental AIDS drugs to 465 HIV-positive foster kids. Councilmen Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) and Charles Barron (D-East New York) made the request at a press conference at City Hall on Sunday, April 24, in the wake of the administration’s stunning revelation on Friday, that the number of kids involved in trials was far greater than the 75 to 80 previously reported. [See Newsday below]
Constitutional lawyer, John Whitehead, of The Rutherford Institute calls these inhumane experiments “Mengele’s Legacy.” [See below]
A well-documented Fox News column raises questions that demand answers [see below]
Since the Code of Federal Regulations prohibits the use of children who are wards of the state from being subjected to experiments involving greater than minimal risk, we add the following questions:
- Who authorized the illegal use of children in experimental drug trials?
- Which institutional review boards approved the experiments‹and how did they justify their approval?
- Who waived the federal requirement that every child who is a ward of the state must be protected by a personal advocate to ensure that each child’s best interest is seved by the child’s participation in research?
- Why were the sick children not given the best available standard treatment?
- Was there a limit to how many experiments an individual child could be subjected?
- What adverse events did children suffer during the trials or within 6 months after?
- How many children were subjected to surgical insertion of feeding tubes?
- How many children’s health deteriorated during the experiments–how many children died?
- How many children were critically ill before the trials–how many were “presumed” to be ill?
- How much money did NIH provide for these pediatric drug experiments‹
- and did the AIDS institute know that foster care children were used as subjects?
Those responsible had better provide answers sooner rather than later.
Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
