2004 with a federal study of 1300 extremely premature infants. Some parents say had no idea they agreed to a risky experiment that could injure or kill their babies. Little dreshan cook came into the world at 1 lb. , 11 oz. , fighting for his life. His mother sharrissa was barely six months pregnant when he was born. Sharrissa cook i remember the night that i went into labor, i was a hysterical wreck. I was afraid, i was scared, i s in shock. Sharyl how big was he, do you remember . Sharrissa he would fit in your hand. Sharyl shortly after his birth at the university of alabama at birmingham, sharrissa agreed to enroll dreshan in a study called support. She says the hospital gave the impression she was simply signing up to get support in caring for a preemie. Your thought was, when you signed the papers, that what was going to happen . Sharrissa that my son would be given the best care possible and that even with his prematurity being as extreme as it was, that it would be okay because i had all of this help. Sharyl she had no clue, she says, that the support study was actually a National Experiment on the most fragile extremely premature infants. Bernita lewis also agreed to enroll her baby, christian, in the support study at the same hospital. Bernita christian was born at 27 weeks. Sharyl how much did he weigh . Bernita he was 1 lb, 9 oz. He was very tiny. Sharyl she says a hospital worker told her the study was just to collect data. Bernita she asked would i be interested in christian being in a study. They wanted to use his medical records to help babies in the future. And i told them absolutely, they could use any records they wanted to use. Sharyl did she tell you there was a possible risk of death . Bernita no, there were no risks discussed. Sharyl support stands for Surfactant Positive Airway Pressure and Pulse Oximetry randomized trial. Funded with 20. 8 million tax dollars, it was a collaboration among the National Institutes of health and two Dozen Research bodies, including duke and yale universities and medical schools. Researchers had good intentions. They already knew that without enough oxygen, preemies could get brain damaged or die. But too much oxygen, they could go blind. The support study was searching for the sweet spot. Dr. John lantos the question is what level of oxygen would be optimum in order to save as many babies as possible without having the survivors become blind . Sharyl to find out, the infants were randomly assigned, as with the flip of a coin, to either a low oxygen group or a high oxygen group. The study reached a tragic and conclusion the babies in the high oxygen group were more likely to go blind. Those unlucky enough to have been put in the low oxygen group were more likely to die. When the findings became known, Similar Research around the world was halted midstream. Bioethicist dr. John lantos defended the support study as an Expert Witness against families who unsuccessfully sued for damages, including bernita and sharrissa. Dr. Lantos this was a study that was welldesigned, conducted to the highest ethical standards, with a completely adequate consent that was conducted without harming any babies and led to an important finding thats gonna save lots of lives. Sharyl on nearly every point, dr. Michael carome disagrees. Hes an internationally recognized expert on Research Ethics at the Watchdog Group public citizen. Whats wrong with what they did in the study, in your view . Dr. Carome the parents of these babies werent told the exact purpose of the research, the nature of the research, in terms of how experimental it was, and the risks of the research. Sharyl adding to the controversy, researchers didnt tell parents a remarkable fact they had altered the infant oxygen monitors to give false readings so the hospital wouldnt adjust them outside of their assigned low or high oxygen range. Babies in the study were put on oxygen monitors that were rigged to give untrue or false readings . Dr. Carome th i sharyl in terms of things that have happened in the past, how bad is this . Dr. Carome i think this is extremely serious and about as bad as it gets. Dr. Lantos it seems to me that theres a lot of second guessing, arm chair quarterbacking, and playing gotcha here. Sharyl the debate would be purely academic if it werent for an extraordinary turn of events after questions were raised, the Government Agency that polices study ethics sided with critics and issued a searing indictment of the governmentled study. In a letter in 2013, the office for Human Research protections told researchers they violated federal regulations for informed consent for their failure to describe the reasonably foreseeable risks of blindness, neurological damage, and death. Dr. Carome was once a Senior Leader at the office for Human Research protections. The Ethics Office was in essence saying these consent forms were unethical . Dr. Sharyl the concept of informed consent arose from an american tragedy the u. S. Governments syphilis experiment on black men in tuskegee, alabama in 1932. For 40 years, the men were neither told they were in a study nor treated for their syphilis. An outcry in 1972 led to new rules. Researchers are now required to disclose risks to test subjects and get their voluntary informed consent. And studies like support must be approved by ethics experts where the research is conducted. These were prestigious institutions and the federal government. How does Something Like this slip past everybody . Dr. Carome that is a great concern of ours. We looked at the consent forms from 22 institutions and they all failed in their duty to protect human subjects in this study. Dr. Lantos most of the criticism is not coming from parents, but from regulators who, in my opinion, dont really understand the circumstances of oxygen therapy. Sharyl when the support parents learned about the true risks, the surviving study children were six years old. What thoughts did you have . Sharrissa it was really emotional. A lot of crying, a lot of disbelief, a lot of heartache, and then it was anger. Im his mom, you know, im supposed to protect him, but it was almost like i threw him out to the wolves, you know. Bernita i was angry. And i couldnt believe that some people who vowed, who took oaths to protect people would actually do this. That was mindboggling. Sharyl if you had been told the risks involved and what they were really going to do, would you have signed him up . Bernita absolutely not. No. Sharyl yet there were no apologies. Instead, the support researchers made a bold, new claim th controversial they said the babies were actually better off for having been in the study. Dr. Lantos the risks of not being in that study were comparable to the risks of being in that study and perhaps even higher. Sharyl dr. Carome argues thats simply wrong. Dr. Carome theres no doubt that some babies, because they were in the study, died as a result. Sharyl amid the criticism, the support researchers and National Institutes of health dug in. They launched a Public Campaign of opinion letters and meetings to attack the office for Human Research protections and pressured it to suspend enforcement action. The sensational claims of calling people unethical further detract from the serious discussion that needs to occur. Dr. Carome the research community, many in the Bioethics Community and nih, have rallied together to defend this unethical research, and so thats part of the problem. Sharyl today, dreshan and christian are both nine and doing well considering their challenges. But they have many lingering health struggles, from respiratory problems to brain disorders. Their moms are left asking if the support study factors in. Bernita we dont know if it would have happened anyway, or if it was caused by this. And its just a game of just wondering. Sharissa he was born premature, at 25 weeks. So, we could expect some things, but to know that some others could have been prevented, you know, that makes me angry. And so, to the doctors or to the researchers, best thing i can say is shame on you. Sharyl more than 80 years after the tuskegee experiments, the support study has reopened painful wounds and is raising questions as to whether the protections for human test subjects are fundamentally flawed. Those whove conducted this study and the federal government at large have basically said they dont think they did anything wrong . Sharrissa i dont see how anyone can say nothing was wrong with playing russian roulette with babies. Babies who had no say so, no choice, no anything, just trying to survive. Sharyl numerous support researchers, the National Institutes of health or nih, and the university of birmingham at alabama declined our interview requests. After the study revealed more deaths among babies on low oxygen, the American Academy of pediatrics issued new to survive. Recommendations to keep preemies on the upper end of the oxygen curve. In other words, doctors should not do what the support researchers did to half of the babies. Still ahead on full measure the price of the presidency. This Election Year will be the most expensive in history. Well tell you where the candidates are getting their money. Sharyl political march madness is about to begin. Tuesday, voters in more than a dozen states will caucus or cast primary ballots in the 2016 president ial contest. So many delegates are at stake that it is known as super tuesday. Super tuesday has a super price tag as well. Millions of dollars will be spent to attract voters. Scott thuman followed the money to find out where all that cash is coming from. Washington is broken. Im fighting for you. No excuses, no surrender. Scott from the Television Ads to Campaign Events across the god bless the great state of nevada. Scott running for president is expensive even for a billionaire. Mr. Trump im funding my own campaign. Im putting in a fortune and spending a lot of money. Scott and a lot of socalled outside money is being pumped into this campaign cycle. Thats money spent by organizations other than the campaigns of the candidates. According to the federal election commission, the 2016 president ial candidates and the outside political groups supporting them combined have raised nearly 1 billion so far. With nearly half of that money 45 coming from socalled super pacs, outside groups that can support candidates but are not allowed to coordinate with their campaigns. And theres no legal limit to the amount of cash super pacs can raise or spend. So, where is all that money coming from . On the democrats side Hillary Clinton has raised 184. 1 million according to the center for responsive politics. 57 million of that is outside money with 50 million alone from priorities usa, the super pac that helped get president its top individual donor for this election, at 6 million 7 million, is billionaire philanthropist and political activist george soros. Bernie sanders has raised 95. 4 million nearly all from direct campaign contributions. Sanders has negligible super pac backing. His biggest chunk of outside support is 1. 7 million from the Union National nurses united. Sen. Sanders american democracy is not supposed to be about billionaires buying elections. Scott among the Top Republicans donald trump has 27 million fueling his president ial bid with 70 of that money coming from the candidate himself. Trumps biggest outside money, 1. 8 million, comes from the super pac, make America Great again. Ted cruz has 101 million backing his campaign with nearly 50 million coming from outside groups, including four super pacs that share the same name keep the promise. Their biggest donor is listed in open secrets as the billionaire wilks brothers, at 15 million, who made a fortune in fracking. Thank you very much. I appreciated. Scott marco rubio rounds out the top three gop contenders with 77 million in his war chest. 34 million of those dollars are from outside groups. The biggest chunk, 32. 9 million, from conservative Solutions Pac its biggest donor is a luxury car dealer in south florida braman motorcars. But money alone cant guarantee a candidate will win the nomination. Just ask jeb bush. The former Florida Governor far outraised each of the top three republicans who are still in the race 152 million with some 118 million coming from the super pac right to rise. Sharyl and all that money gone. Thanks, scott. Scott still ahead on full measure we read the political funny pages and talk with some of the happiest people in america see this election as a gift. And the president s push to close guantanamo. Well talk to one influential senator who gives a simple reason why it wont happen. Sharyl at president obamas last state of the union, he reaffirmed a commitment that was part of his First Campaign to close Guantanamo Bay. This week, he announced how he would do it and why. Pres. Obama for many years, its been clear that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay does not advance our National Security it undermines it. Sharyl the plan is a blueprint to disperse the 91 remaining detainees, the last of nearly 800 who have either entered or exited since 2002. Of the 91, 35 would be transferred to other countries. The rest, deemed to be too dangerous to release, would be moved to a facility, yet to be named, in the United States. The white house claims closing guantanamo would have an added million and 85 million a year. Pres. Obama keeping this facility open is contrary to our values. It undermines our standing in the world. It is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law. Sharyl among those vying to be the next in the oval office sen. Rubio we are not going to close guantanamo. Donald trump we are going to loaded up with some bad dudes, believe me. Sen. Cruz expand it and lets have some new terrorists there. Senator sanders i think we should shut down guantanamo. In the long run, it will help us. Mrs. Clinton we dont need guantanamo hanging out there over our heads. Sharyl wednesday, attorney general Loretta Lynch testified before congress and confirmed highest standards of rule of law. That transferring detainees to the law. President obama has not been successful in closing gitmo during his seven years in office. Recently, we spoke with senator lindsey graham, who sits on both the appropriations and Armed Services committees, who explained why its not likely to close now. How can it be stopped . Sen. Graham because Congress Wont let it. Theres no way youre going to bring guantanamo detainees inside america without a plan approved by the congress. Three years ago, i sat in the oval office with the president offered to help him close gitmo under one condition that the people who are brought into the recently, we spoke with senator lindsey graham, who sits on both United States be held under the held indefinitely without trial, no requirement in a war to let prisoners go as long as theyre dangerous. We couldnt get there, so, at the end of the day, the only reason Guantanamo Bay is not closed is because president obama would not tell the left something they didnt want to hear. Sharyl president obama has shown, though, that he doesnt need your approval, hasnt he . Sen. Graham yes, he would. There would be no Funds Available to transport the prisoners from Guantanamo Bay into the u. S. We cant make policies, were not commanders in chiefs, but we do control the purse strings. The congress would agree to fund to transfer the prisoners and set up a new jail. These are not common criminals. Theyre enemy combatants, the hardest of the hard. If you let them out, theyll go back to the fight of americans and our allies. They need to stay in jail. Sharyl logistically, could he not empty out the prison before he tells you hes done so . Sen. Graham no. Hed have to have funds to move them. Sharyl but hes released prisoners before without telling you in advance. Sen. Graham hes repatriated prisoners to third countries not inside the u. S. Sharyl can he do that with all of them . Sen. Graham no, theres no way that hes going to be able 49 are deemed by his own administration to be too dangerous to release. Sharyl do you think congress will take some kind of proactive action to tell him not to . Sen. Graham i think theres going to be a bipartisan rejection to president obamas call to move people inside the United States given the conditions we face throughout the world. Wherever you put these prisoners, they become a magnet for terrorist attacks. To charleston. I can tell you this, theres not a snowballs chance in hell that any of these detainees are coming to the brig in charleston, period. Sharyl that brig in charleston is in senator grahams district. The other two potential locations to ship guantanamo prisoners are in kansas and colorado. Coming up on full measure something is seriously funny. Well see some of the editorial cartoons inspired by this election and talk with one humorist who cant stop smiling. Sharyl this political season is playing out like a reality tv show. There are already clear winners in the campaign the political cartoonists. The political circus was on display at a gathering in washington. As campaigns are in full swing across the country. I think they are really clever and funny and im not offended. It is funny. It really delivers very serious messages. Sharyl the cartoonists were treated like rock stars. Tom tolls of the washington post. Worker of politico. This is the world series, march madness. It does not get any better for political cartoonists than during a president ial campaign. Sharyl worker let us look over his shoulder at the cartooning of the candidates. Of this president ial campaign is unlike any i have ever experienced. This week alone, w the pope in an airplane starting a twitter war with donald trump. I was expecting to see political cartoonists heads exploding across the country. In photoshop on the computer, i put the title where the wild things are. One pen stroke and he punctures the image campaigns spend millions to craft. It is a cheap shot. Im sorry. What to drink team. Everything is focus grouped. Bernies big issue is reaching out to minorities. Maybe he could take a few hints from beyonce. This one was really fun to draw. I like to paint on paper with lots of detail. I think cartooning is still really about the drawing. Usually, there is a day when i am standing around going, come on, dry, so i can put you on the scanner. I had this idea about drawing a circular firing squad about the gop debates. With the candidates all shooting across from each other. With donald trump is in the middle, his head spinning around like a machine gun. When the pope popped up at the end of the week, i threw the pope in. I would like to thank that we can bring civilized levity to the conversation. People understand that it is in good humor. He has a remarkable face to draw. Sharyl worker says there is a new outrage industry and that the campaigns and their followers often dont have a sense of humor at all. Once upon a time, you had to worry about the letters to the editor and people threatening to cancel subscriptions. Now it is like that crazy thing in the wizard of oz with the flying monkeys. Suddenly, there are the flying monkeys coming on twitter and facebook. People should be passionate about their politics, but i think it is really important, in a democracy, that we respect peoples differences and treat of respect. Ideally, a good joke or a witty retort can do that in a way that does not instigate a fight. Sharyl but if it does, he plans on having a ringside seat. This is going to remain a really crazy circus right into the conventions and then we have a whole new kind of circus. Im hoping i get to go to the conventions and take my sketchbook. Sharyl but those conventions are still months away. Coming up next week on full measure we tackle one of the biggest topics in America Today the border. We travel to the 372mile border between arizona and mexico. Where the question is, who is really calling the shots . We will go over some of the most dangerous terrain. That is next week on full measure. Thank you for watching. Im sharyl attkisson. Until next time, well be searching for more stories that hold powers accountable. Starting right now on this week with george stephanopoulos. Trump takes command. Just two days till super tuesday. The billionaire frontrunner rewriting the campaign playbook. We have a really good chance of winning. A former foe now joining his side. Im proud and happy to be part of this team. While his rivals hit back harder than ever. Worst spray tan in america. This is a scam. Dond d trump will never be the republican nominee. Were covering all the weeks stunning surprises. And looking ahead to super tuesday. With Chris Christie and ted cruz here live. Plus, hillarys landslide victory. Tomorrow, this Campaign Goes national. [ cheers and applause ] is this the start of her big move