 In the 1960s , Peter Buxtun sent a letter to the CDC , who controlled the study , expressing concern about the ethics of letting hundreds of black men die of a disease that could be cured . The CDC asserted that it needed to continue the study until all of the men had died . In 1972 , Buxton went to the mainstream press , causing a public outcry . As a result , the program was terminated , a lawsuit brought those affected nine million dollars , and Congress created a commission empowered to write regulations to deter such abuses from occurring in the future . 
