A member of the UK Opposition Labor Party and shadow minister for women and equalities has asked for a legislative inquiry into medical studies dating back to the 1960s that resulted in Indian-origin women being administered radioactive isotopes to cure iron deficiency.
Taiwo Owatemi, the MP for Coventry in England’s West Midlands district, has stated on X – formerly Twitter – that she is “deeply concerned” for the women and families affected by the study.
In 1969, as part of a research trial on iron deficiency in the city’s South Asian community, 21 Indian-origin women identified through a general practitioner (GP) in the city were given bread containing Iron-59, an iron isotope.
Owatemi stated, “My foremost concern is for the women and the families of those who were experimented on in this study”.
“I will be calling for a debate on this as soon as possible after Parliament returns in September followed by a full Statutory Inquiry into how this was allowed to happen, and why the recommendation of the MRC [Medical Research Council] report identifying the women was never followed up so that they can share their stories, receive any support needed, and so that lessons are learned”, Owatemi continued.
An MRC spokesperson stated that an independent inquiry, commissioned in response to a Channel 4 documentary in 1995, had looked into the issues identified.
The study was conducted in response to prevalent anemia among South Asian women, and researchers assumed that traditional South Asian diets were to blame. Iron-59 chapatis, an iron isotope with a gamma-beta emitter, were given to participants’ homes. Later, they’d be invited to a research center in Oxfordshire to have their radiation levels checked.
According to the MRC, the study demonstrated that Asian women should take extra iron because the iron in the flour was insoluble. In a statement, the MRC stated that it remains devoted to the highest standards, including commitment to engagement, openness, and transparency.
“The issues were considered following the broadcast of the documentary in 1995 and an independent inquiry was established at that time to examine the questions raised”, the statement reads.
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