One thing that makes me angrier than anything else is the way that big pharmaceutical companies exploit people. I understand their place in the world and some good things have come from their labs, however, using people that do not have any other options or choices, as guinea pigs, to test if a particular drug will work and to see its side effects is unbelievably unethical and immoral.
Microbicides are compounds that can be applied inside the vagina or rectum to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. These products are being tested on women in India. The pharmaceutical company’s stance is that they are empowering the women of India by giving them an option to prevent the transmission of HIV since many of them do not have the option to refuse sex or demand a condom be used during sex. It’s incredible that these gels and creams “may” help in protecting these women from HIV. My question is why they test these products in India. In my opinion, they targeted the women in this country because they do not have any other options to fight HIV. It’s either risk getting HIV or let pharmaceutical companies use your body to experiment on and you could possibly prevent HIV. These women are backed into a corner with only one way out….the pharmaceutical companies.
When the BigPharma companies were gathered around the table with this new product asking where the trials should take place, I’m sure they didn’t think, “We need to go to the country that needs the most help with preventing HIV.” Nope, I think it was more like, “Where can we find enough desperate women that will not ask any questions about what we are giving them, who are quiet enough that if there is an adverse reaction won’t make much of a fuse, and expendable if they die from it...hmmm, India!”
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