The Case Study of David Reimer- An Unethical Experiment

The Case Study of David Reimer

In 1965 in Winnipeg, Canada, Janet Reimer gave birth to healthy, identical twin boys, Bruce and Brian. Around the age of 6 months, both boys began having urinary difficulties. They were referred for circumcision at 8 months. The routine procedure went horribly wrong when the boy’s urologist decided to use an electro-cautery needle instead of a typically used scalpel on Bruce. His genital organs were completely destroyed and could not be surgically repaired. The doctors chose not to perform the surgery on his brother, Brian. (shb-info.org/reimer3.html)
After seeing many doctors and no offered hope, the Reimer’s decided to visit psychologist John Money. They first saw Money on a television show one night where he discussed his theories about gender. He was being called the world’s leading expert in gender identity. They brought their sons to John Hopkin’s Hospital in Baltimore. (slate.com/articles/health_and_science) Money told the naïve, young parents that gender reassignment surgery would be their best option. He told them that Bruce would be happy and healthy if he was raised as a girl and they believed his claims. Bruce would be brought up as a sterile female and eventually receive estrogen to feminize him and make him go through puberty as a woman. When he was 22 months of age, Bruce had an orchiectomy but did not receive a full sex change.
What Bruce’s (now Brenda’s) parents did not know is that their son was nothing more than an experiment for John Money. He wanted to prove that nurture determines gender identity and sexual orientation, not nature. He saw Bruce as the perfect patient to test on because he was the only developmentally normal child to receive a sex change. More importantly, Bruce had an identical twin brother who could act as the “control”. (wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer)
John Money published numerous reports throughout Brenda’s childhood. He stated that she was a happy, normal little girl. This could not be farther from the truth. She grew up as an angry child and acted almost identically to her twin brother. (slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2004/06/gender_gap.html) She was teased in school and soon became clinically depressed. Her mother attempted suicide and her father became an alcoholic due to all of the guilt they were feeling. Her twin brother developed schizophrenia.
When she was 14, Brenda’s parents could not keep the secret any longer and told her the truth. Brenda stated, “Suddenly it all made sense why I felt the way I did. I wasn 't some sort of weirdo. I wasn 't crazy." She immediately began acting and dressing like a boy and took the name David. However, because of Dr. John Money, David and his family could not have a normal life in adulthood. His brother Brian overdosed on antidepressants. A few years later, David’s wife wanted to separate because she could not handle his depression. David committed suicide the next morning.
What John Money did to David and his family was inhumane, heartless, and unethical. Money had no morals when he performed his case study on David. He broke every single principle set for a psychologist’s ethical behavior.
Additionally, Dr. Money broke all of the ethical guidelines set by the American Psychological Association. Psychologists are told that they must abide by these rules during any research using humans. The first rule is about consent. Bruce, as an infant, was unable to give his own consent for this case study. His parents were deceived when they gave consent and they did not know what it entailed, nor did they know that it was even a study.
Next, the right to confidentiality was not even considered. Articles about both twins were published on numerous occasions, all of them filled with lies. It is also said that Money took pictures of the boys more than once. Another guideline that was broken is the right to debriefing. The only closure David received was from his parents fourteen years later. Dr. Money continued to publish false articles about Brenda until he thought he might have been caught. When he finally stopped, he never spoke to the family again.
Most importantly, David was never shown the right to be protected from harm or discomfort. His entire life was filled with pain, torment, and suffering. Not to mention the physical pain David endured. David never knew a normal, happy life because of what Dr. Money decided to do to him.

Bibliography

Colapinto, John. "What Were the Real Reasons behind David Reimer 's Suicide?" Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

Maggie. "Top 10 Unethical Psychological Experiments." Listverse. N.p., 7 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

"David Reimer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

http://www.shb-info.org/reimer3.html

"Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct." Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

Bibliography: Colapinto, John. "What Were the Real Reasons behind David Reimer 's Suicide?" Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. Maggie. "Top 10 Unethical Psychological Experiments." Listverse. N.p., 7 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. "David Reimer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. http://www.shb-info.org/reimer3.html "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct." Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.