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Are there Groups That Should Never Be Experimented Upon?. Patients? Is the use of one’s own patients intrinsically coercive? The Poor? Is paying the very poor for participation inherently exploitative? Prisoners? Can prisoners freely consent? Children? Can we consent for children?.
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Are there Groups That Should Never Be Experimented Upon? • Patients? • Is the use of one’s own patients intrinsically coercive? • The Poor? • Is paying the very poor for participation inherently exploitative? • Prisoners? • Can prisoners freely consent? • Children? • Can we consent for children?
Experimentation and the Poor (I) • The very poor are often recruited to participate in Phase I (safety) tests of new drugs. • No health benefit expected for these participants. • The available information on how these trials operate suggests that most sponsors do not provide free care in the event of injury. • Monetary compensation can surpass that of a minimum-wage job.
Arguments in Favor of Allowing Children to Participate in Medical Experiments • Children are required to obtain data in particular cases. • Risks are lower with children in some cases. • Proxy consent can be given by parents or guardians.
Argument Against Using Children • 1) In the case of (a) pure and (b) non-trivial experiments. • 2) Proxy consent only seems justified in cases where children’s best interest is at stake. • 3) Parents or guardians are presumed to make decisions based on the best interest of the children. • 4) But in pure experiments, by definition, children do not participate because it is in their best interest.
Medical Ethics Abortion
The Abortion Storm (I) • Significance of Roe v. Wade (1973) • Revolutionary decision • unanticipated • radical • Not preceded by significant public debate • Substantive conclusions • trimester structure • importance of privacy • additions of Doe