withheld treatment for unsuspecting men

[GoodTaste]

Does "withheld treatment for unsuspecting men" mean "conceal treatment for unsuspecting men"

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For 40 years starting in 1932, medical workers in the segregated South withheld treatment for unsuspecting men infected with a sexually transmitted disease simply so doctors could track the ravages of the horrid illness and dissect their bodies afterward.

Source:statnews

 

[GoodTaste]

No. If you withhold something from someone, you do not allow them to receive it.

Got it. They promised to treat the patients but secretly withheld the treatment so that the doctors could observe how the disease developed in the patients.

 

[GoodTaste]

The article continues:

Finally exposed in 1972, the study ended and the men sued, resulting in a $9 million settlement. Twenty years ago this May, President Bill Clinton apologized for the U.S. government. It seemed to mark the end of this ugly episode, once and for all.
Except it didn’t.

Relatives of the men still struggle with the stigma of being linked to the experiment, commonly known today as the “Tuskegee Syphilis Study.” For years they have met privately to share their pain and honor the victims.

Does "they" refer to the doctors of the infamous study?

 

[GoesStation]

Relatives of the men still struggle with the stigma of being linked to the experiment, commonly known today as the “Tuskegee Syphilis Study.” For years they have met privately to share their pain and honor the victims.

Does "they" refer to the doctors of the infamous study?

Since doctors aren't mentioned nearby, there's no reason to think they refers to them.