Eunice Rivers Laurie

Eunice Verdell Rivers Laurie (1899–1986) was an African American nurse who worked in the state of Alabama. She is known for her work as one of the nurses of the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study in Macon County from 1932 to 1972 which was "arguably the most infamous biomedical research study in U.S. history."

Early life and education Born into a farming family in rural Georgia in 1899, Eunice Verdell Rivers was the oldest of three daughters. Originating from a poor, working-class family, Rivers' education allowed her access to middle-class life. Her father, who was a proponent of education, encouraged her to become a nurse. Following her father's advice, She recruited 600 African-American men with syphilis for the study and worked to keep them enrolled as participants in the program. In exchange for their participation, the study offered participants free medical care, which Rivers provided. Rivers was the experiment's only consistent full-time staff member. During the entire study, the participants were not informed that the ailment they called "bad blood" was actually syphilis. When the study started, arsphenamine (Salvarsan) and Neosalvarsan were the only available treatments for syphilis, and both compounds had dangerous side effects. However, even after the 1940s, when the discovery of penicillin offered a reliable and safe cure for the disease, study participants did not receive treatment. After the New York Times and Washington Post revealed that study participants had been allowed to suffer rather than receiving a known safe treatment, the Public Health Service ended it in 1972.

Public perception Following the public disclosure in 1972 of the unethical practices associated with the Tuskegee Study, Rivers largely withdrew from public comment on the matter. Interpretations of her role in the study have since varied from support to condemnation. Some regard her as a dedicated nurse who carried out her duties within the framework of the study, continuing to provide care to participants.

She died in 1986.