The Highwire with Del Bigtree - EXPERIMENTING ON THE HANDICAPPED

Episode Date: December 11, 2021

In a disturbing sequence, Dr. Plotkin admits to conducting vaccine experiments on babies born to incarcerated mothers, people with mental illness, and the handcapped. What is more shocking, is his defense of such experimentation.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-highwire-with-del-bigtree--3620606/support.

Have you ever used orphans to study an experimental vaccine? Yes. Have you ever used the mentally handicapped to study an experimental vaccine? I don't recollect ever doing studies in mentally handicapped individuals. At the time in the 1960s, it was not an uncommon practice. I'm not clear on your answer. I'm sorry. Have you ever used the mentally handicapped to study an experimental vaccine? What I'm saying is I don't recall specifically having done that, but that in the 1960s, it was not unusual to do that, and I wouldn't deny that I may have done so.

Okay. There's an article entitled, Attenuation. of RA 273 rebello virus in W.I.38 human diploid cells. Are you familiar with that article? Yes. In that article, one of the things it says is 13 serenegative, mentally retarded children were given R.A. 273 vaccine. Okay. Well, then that's, in that case, that's what I did. Okay.

Have you ever expressed that it's better to perform experiments? And those less likely to be able to contribute to society, such as children with handicapped, than with children without, or adults without handicaps? I don't remember specifically, but it's possible. And again, I repeat that in the 1960s, that was more or less common practice. I've since changed my mind, but those were, that was a long time ago. Do you remember ever writing to the editor of Ethics on Human Experimentation? I don't remember specifically, but I may well have.

Do you recognize this letter you wrote to the editor? Yes. Okay. Did you write this letter? Yes. Okay. This is one of the things you wrote. The question is whether we are to have experiments performed on fully functioning adults

and on children who are potentially contributors to society or to perform initial studies in children and adults who are human in form but not in social potential. Yes. Okay. It may be objected that this question implies a Nazi philosophy, but I do not think that it is difficult to distinguish non-functioning persons from members of ethnic, racial, economic, or other groups? Mm-hmm. Okay.

Have you ever used babies of mothers in prison to study an experimental vaccine? Yes. Have you ever used individuals under colonial rule to study an experimental vaccine? Yes. Okay. Did you do so in the Belgian Congo? Yes. Did that experiment involve almost a million people?

Well, all right, yes. If you like that clip, then be sure to check out our live broadcast of the High Wire every Thursday morning at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. You can watch it on Facebook, YouTube, iTunes, and Twitter. We'll see you there.