At least a dozen babies have died in a pneumonia vaccine trial conducted by GlaxoSmithKline in Argentina. The Argentina Federation of Health Professionals (Fesprosa) asserts that children of poor families are being used for the trials, and parents are bullied into signing consent forms. The trials are still continuing, even though at least 12 infants have already died.

Fesprosa maintains that there is no state control and that there are no ethical requirements. This doesn't come as any surprise to those who know how these kinds of human trials usually occur. Generally speaking, vaccine trials are conducted in Third World countries on poor people who often feel trapped into participating in human health experiments in order to receive medical care or other necessities.

One doesn't find these kinds of experiments going on in places like the United States or Europe, where names and faces of victims would surely get out into the media and cause a big stir. Instead, the infants of impoverished people, who often can't even read or write, are used in the trials. Apparently, the lead investigator of the trial didn't think it was any big concern that over 12 babies have already died since deaths from respiratory illnesses caused by the pneumococcal bacteria kill even more people. Of course, this is no comfort to the poor mothers whose babies are sacrificed for the monetary gains of a pharmaceutical giant.

The great aunt of one of the victims alleges that once children begin to participate in these trials, there is no way out. Mothers who try to remove their children from the trials are browbeaten into submission, being told that their children will never receive any other vaccines if removed before a trial is completed. Imagine being a poor, uneducated mother and having to make such a choice. (Remember, too, that some can't even read the consent forms they are signing!)

Anyone who hasn't seen The Constant Gardener, a film starring Ralph Fiennes, truly needs to do so. While the story is fictional, the viewer is able to get a better feel for how drug and vaccine trials are conducted. Some particularly touching words are spoken in the movie by the character "Ham," who is discussing the deaths that happen in trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies when he states: "And from those deaths we derive the benefits of civilization, benefits we can afford so easily... because those lives were bought so cheaply." Unfortunately, all consumers of drugs and vaccines share some of the responsibility for the deaths and injuries of these drug trial victims. While it isn't always easy to do the right thing, sometimes one just has to make the moral choice to stand up for these innocent children and say "no" to Big Pharma.