“ETHICALLY IMPOSSIBLE” STD Research in Guatemala from 1946-1948 
This section contains graphic medical descriptions of artificially inoculating humans 
with STDs. It may not be appropriate for all readers. This information has been 
included for completeness of the historical record. 
Initial Experiment Design 
The Terre Haute experiments had shown the difficulty of reliably producing 
infection, at least for gonorrhea, through artificial inoculation. Dr. Mahoney 
later observed in the Journal of Venereal Disease Information (July 1947) that 
undertaking research in Guatemala offered new opportunities unavailable in 
the United States: 
“It has been considered impractical to work out, under postwar 
conditions in the United States, the solution of certain phases 
concerned with the prevention and treatment of syphilis. These 
problems are largely concerned with the development of an effec- 
tive prophylactic agent for both gonorrhea and syphilis and the 
prolonged observation of patients treated with penicillin for early 
syphilis. Because of the relatively fixed character of the population 
and because of the highly cooperative attitude of the officials, both 
civil and military, an experimental laboratory in Guatemala City 
has been established...” 187 
Dr. Cutler, who was 31 years old when he 
traveled to Guatemala to lead the work in 
August 1946, emphasized the scientific merit 
of working where “normal exposure” could 
be easily replicated. 188 Dr. Cutler wrote later 
that the idea for the research in Guatemala 
originated with Dr. Juan Funes, a Guatemalan 
physician who worked as a one-year fellow with 
Drs. Mahoney, Arnold, and Cutler at the VDRL 
in Staten Island in 1943. 189 In Guatemala, 
the legality of commercial sex work and the 
1111 John c - Cutler 
requirement tor sex workers to undergo health From the National Library of Medicine 
inspection at medical clinics, the main one of which was supervised by Dr. 
Funes, presented “the possibility of carrying out carefully controlled studies 
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