From 1946 to 1949 over 800 women living in and around poor areas of Nashville were deceived into taking part in a nutritional study where pregnant women were given pills with radioactive iron-59. Funded by Vanderbilt University at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

When the babies were born, they were also tested to see how much radioactive iron had passed through the placenta to the womb.

It is also worth noting that the mothers were not made aware of the potential harm. Test subjects were taken from Nashville’s poor communities where people are far less likely to have lawyers that can defend them.