The high cost of medical whistleblowing

MPR News with Angela Davis

Carl Elliott, a medical school graduate and philosophy professor, blew the whistle on his employer after a vulnerable man died by suicide while enrolled in a psychiatric drug study. After being ignored by university officials and dropped by colleagues, Elliott was vindicated years later when a state inquiry corroborated his concerns.

In his new book, “The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No,” Elliott interviews the people who spoke up against wrongdoing in six medical research studies.

MPR News guest host Euan Kerr talked with Elliott about what motivates whistleblowers, the isolation and hopelessness that accompanies speaking out and what could make it easier to report and stop unethical medical research.