National Research Act

The National Research Act of 1974 was a landmark piece of United States legislation enacted in response to unethical medical experiments, most notably the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. This study, conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service from 1932 to 1972, involved withholding treatment from African American men infected with syphilis to observe the disease's natural progression.1

The National Research Act established the requirement for institutional review boards (IRBs) to review and approve all research involving human subjects. These ethics committees are tasked with protecting the rights and safety of participants by ensuring research adheres to ethical principles, such as those outlined in the Belmont Report: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Institutions receiving federal funding must have an IRB, and most institutions require IRB approval for all human subject research.21