Child experimentation is something that no one should condone. There are many reasons why we shouldn't experiment on children, especially the kinds of experimentation they were subjected to during the Cortexiphan trials.
Cortexiphan is a highly experimental and dangerous drug created by Doctors Bell and Bishop. The FDA did not approve of this drug, so the doctors took the drug and found children to experiment on in secret by setting up two daycare centers in Wooster and Jacksonville. The drug was developed because they theorized that, at birth, people have approximately 100% access to their brain's potential. This capacity diminishes as we grow older, making children the prime subjects to test their theory. Cortexiphan was meant to be a drug that halted the decay of the brain. During their creation of the drug, Dr. Bishop discovered that Cortexiphan also had regenerative properties when applied to brain tissue. While it could not regrow the brain's capacity to 100%, it could heal any damage done to the brain.
Trials on adults proved that the drug could only work on children, and that it was also an extremely dangerous drug. All of the people subjected to the tests died a few hours after the drug was administered. Dr. Bishop stated that since children's brains were still in development and more plastic than brains of adults, the drug was more free to create unique neural pathways in a subject's brain without causing as much damage as it did in the adult trials. Once these pathways were created, they would remain in the brain forever, even if the drug burned up in the subject's system.
Doctors Bell and Bishop began their trials in Wooster, Ohio. After those tests were complete, they began a second set of tests in Jacksonville, Florida. The children in the Jacksonville trials were apparently more receptive to the treatment. One such case is Olivia Dunham, who set fire to the building with her mind when Dr. Bishop was manipulating her emotions in an attempt to get a reaction from the drug that he wanted from her. The children in Wooster were not as fortunate to have their powers suppressed and their memories wiped like the children in Jacksonville. The tests were more successful in Jacksonville, but when the daycare center was about to be closed, Doctors Bell and Bishop had to cover up their progress to keep it secret from the government.
While the people who were in the trials gained exceptional mental abilities, many of these abilities turned out to be extremely problematic in their daily lives. This kind of experimentation should not be done on children because any lasting effects will be with them for the rest of their lives. Especially with a drug like Cortexiphan.
Of the subjects from the trials, only one known case was able to successfully reintegrate himself into society without having his memories wiped and powers suppressed by Dr. Bell and Dr. Bishop. In the case of Mark Little (formerly Cameron James) he was finally able to suppress his powers by learning to control his emotional state. But even then, Mr. Little could not engage in a full life because he had to avoid relationships with others and the emotional turmoil that sometimes comes with those relationships.
In addition, Mr. Little still holds abundant amounts of bitterness towards Dr. Bishop and Dr. Bell for ruining his life. Mr. Little's power was astral projection, but he eventually lost that power and was only left with the ability to incur the electromagnetic field that came with the projection. With some help from Agent Dunham and Dr. Bishop, Mr. Little was able to learn to focus his mind and control his electromagnetic powers. However, he still had little control over them in tandem with his emotions.
Also from the Wooster trials, Simon Phillips had an even harder time rejoining society, so much so that he gave up and lived in isolation for years so his power could not torment him. Mr. Phillips gained the power of telepathy, allowing him to hear the thoughts of people around him. However, with every thought Mr. Phillips hears, his brain is put under stress, causing him pain. He secluded himself to a cabin in the woods because it was too painful for him to live around others and try to master his powers.
Mr. Phillips only blocker from hearing other people's thoughts is Cortexiphan. He cannot hear the thoughts of other people successfully dosed with the drug. He eventually found another subject to settle down with and have a family with, but he has to still remain removed from society to keep sane and pain free.
The subjects of the Cortexiphan Trials were also later trained to become soldiers and that conditioning has stayed with them in their subconscious, even with the memory manipulation. Cortexiphan subjects continued to wear what was referenced as a "uniform" Dr. Bishop called the "blacks and greys" which allowed the Cortexiphan subjects to blend in to the background and avoid drawing attention to themselves. This effect on the children of the trials into their adulthood shows that children are malleable to suggestion and conditioning that can very well shape their futures and personalities.
The Cortexiphan trials can be seen as weaponizing humans as well, and should be an example against human experimentation, especially on children.
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