三個重量級的機構 以人體做梅毒試驗判賠10億美元
好壞喔〜拿人體當實驗，在無辜的人身上放梅毒，再看當時的新藥盤尼西林有沒有效。這是在1940年代，由美國政府主導的一項實驗。拿瓜地馬拉人當實驗品，共444人。
實際執行者竟是約翰霍普金斯大學，必治妥施貴寶藥廠，與洛克菲勒基金會。道貌岸然者之不願面對的黑暗過去?
有時法律沒有時效性，這個訴訟朔及70幾年前，這三個團體要判賠給受害人與家屬共10億美元。這個新聞不是來自甚麼陰謀論的媒體，而是堂堂路透社的報導。這件事讓人驚嚇的重點在於這些人臉上沒寫壞字，都是社會上名聲地位有成，道貌岸然的機構。
下文是…..這三個機構對於受牽連的個人與家屬表達無限同情，但是他們無論如何要提起上訴………….
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原文的主要內容
約翰霍普金斯大學，必治妥施貴寶藥廠，與洛克菲勒基金會，
梅毒感染訴訟判賠10億美元
路透社報導
美國馬里蘭州聯邦法官表示，約翰霍普金斯大學，必治妥施貴寶藥廠以及洛克菲勒基金會，必須面臨10億美元的敗訴賠償，為了他們在1940年代美國政府所執行的實驗中扮演的角色，以梅毒感染了數百名瓜地馬拉人。
周四的一項決定，美國地方法院法官駁回被告論點，即最高法院最近的一項判決，保護海外公司在海外犯下侵犯人權議題可免受美國司法訴訟，現在即使沒有國會授權亦可適用於美國國內公司。
該名法官的判決是444名受害者和受害者之親屬勝訴，他們是當時新藥盤尼西林的實驗品，為了遏止性病的傳播。
這個實驗也呼應政府對Tuskegee對黑人的研究，刻意讓梅毒的病放置不治療，即使在盤尼西林已經發現以後。
這件事一直在暗處，直到2010年麻州衛斯理學院的一位教授發現。美國官員為當時的實驗道歉，美國總統歐巴馬親自打電話給瓜地馬拉總統為此提出個人的道歉。
該名法官並說，根據聯邦外國人侵權法規對美國公司提起訴訟，在去年4月24日並沒有被最高法院明確取消。
他說，美國公司是被告，『司法謹慎的需要顯著減少』，因為沒有外交緊張的威脅，或來自國外政府的反對。
法官也表示，讓瓜地馬拉案件往下審理，能給予國外原告者在美國法院一個補救的機會，以便促進和諧，。
根據訴狀，霍普金斯大學與洛克菲勒基金會的數位醫生參與這項實驗；還有必治妥施貴寶的四名高階主管，來自還未合併的公司前身，必治妥實驗室與施貴寶研究中心。
約翰霍普金斯大學在一份聲明中說：「約翰霍普金斯對於在1940年代，由美國政府贊助執行的梅毒研究，而受影響的個人與家庭，表達深切的同情。」「我們尊重司法程序，我們將繼續大力上訴。」
洛克菲勒基金會發言人表示，打官司沒有任何好處，以及非營利組織對於設計，資助或管理實驗並不知情。必治妥施貴寶發言人則拒絕評論。
原告律師保羅貝克曼表示，他的客戶將繼續找出，數十年前的文件。早先的判決發現沒有訴訟時效問題，如果原告在2010年之前不了解該實驗。
「這項實驗始於72年前。令人難以置信，」貝克曼說。
該案件，第15-00950號。
January 5, 2019
Johns Hopkins, Bristol-Myers must face $1 billion syphilis infections suit
(Reuters) - A federal judge in Maryland said The Johns Hopkins University, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N) and the Rockefeller Foundation must face a $1 billion lawsuit over their roles in a 1940s U.S. government experiment that infected hundreds of Guatemalans with syphilis.
In a decision on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang rejected the defendants’ argument that a recent Supreme Court decision shielding foreign corporations from lawsuits in U.S. courts over human rights abuses abroad also applied to domestic corporations absent Congressional authorization.
Chuang’s decision is a victory for 444 victims and relatives of victims suing over the experiment, which was aimed at testing the then-new drug penicillin and stopping the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases.
The experiment echoed the government’s Tuskegee study on black American men who were deliberately left untreated for syphilis even after penicillin was discovered.
It was kept under wraps until a professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts discovered it in 2010. U.S. officials apologized for the experiment, and President Barack Obama called Guatemala’s president to offer a personal apology.
Chuang said lawsuits against U.S. corporations under the federal Alien Tort Statute were not “categorically foreclosed” by the Supreme Court decision last April 24 in Jesner v Arab Bank Plc covering foreign corporations.
He said the “need for judicial caution” was “markedly reduced” where U.S. corporations were defendants because there was no threat of diplomatic tensions or objections from foreign governments.
The judge also said letting the Guatemala case proceed would “promote harmony” by giving foreign plaintiffs a chance at a remedy in U.S. courts.
According to the complaint, several Hopkins and Rockefeller Foundation doctors were involved with the experiment, as were four executives from Bristol-Myers predecessors, Bristol Laboratories and the Squibb Institute.
“Johns Hopkins expresses profound sympathy for individuals and families impacted by the deplorable 1940s syphilis study funded and conducted by the U.S. government in Guatemala,” the university said in a statement. “We respect the legal process, and we will continue to vigorously defend the lawsuit.”
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A Rockefeller Foundation spokesman said that the lawsuit had no merit, and that the nonprofit did not know about, design, fund or manage the experiment. Bristol-Myers spokesman Brian Castelli declined to comment.
Paul Bekman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said his clients will proceed with discovery, including the exchange of decades-old documents. An earlier ruling found no statute of limitations issues if the plaintiffs could not have learned about the experiment before 2010.
“This experiment began 72 years ago. It’s hard to believe,” Bekman said.
The case is Estate of Arturo Giron Alvarez et al v The Johns Hopkins University et al, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, No. 15-00950.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Bill Berkrot
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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