The Ethics of Medical Experimentation on Humans
Article by Steven Greggs
There are things in life that cannot be seen as black and white. Besides, there are stuffs and situations that are partly excellent and partly terrible and it is therefore hard to weigh and choose between these things. Just like the conflict between saving the whole humanity using human subjects versus keeping the lives of the human subjects safe and healthy.
The concern on human experimentation had been a widely known issue even before the World War I and even prior to the well-known experimentation of the Nazis. Many books and literature have dwelt on this matter and various people have studied and researched about this for quite some time. But, same results were learned, and that is physicians and medical men in cotton lab coats and surgical shoes who are supposed to cure people are involved in many of these experimentations.
One of the principles in the Hippocratic Oath is “primum non nocere” or first, do not harm. But apparently, the medical ethics had gone astray when it comes to human experimentation. Some may say that these tests were done for the sake of humanity, and without using experiments unto humans, some medicines were not proven as cures or some virus and bacteria were not verified as causes of some infections. The benefit of humanity is worth the sacrifice of a few, so the Utilitarianistic mind would say.
In this case what canon/ethics will prevail? Is this the same with abortion or euthanasia that will forever be a question if they are ethical or morally incorrect since both have their own benefits and disadvantages? Is the medical human experimentation honest? These are just some of the questions that surround the issue on human experimentation, but unlike abortion and euthanasia, the medical institution and the law had done a fantastic job to provide a code that will apply to it. This is the Nuremberg Code, which speaks of principles such as informed assent and absence of force and coercion, accurately
Filed: Humanitiestags: abortion, assent, bacteria, coercion, Ethics, euthanasia, Experimentation, greggs, hippocratic oath, human experimentation, human subjects, Humans, lab coats, Medical, medical ethics, medical experimentation, medical institution, medical men, medicines, nazis, nuremberg code, sacrifice, stuffs, surgical shoes
