Legal Constraints on the Use of Race in Biomedical Research: Toward a Social Justice Framework

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For example, the trial to test the efficacy of BiDil in treating heart failure in African-Americans was cosponsored by the Association of Black Cardiologists and supported by the National Medical Association and members of the Black Congressional Caucus. Rotimi C. , “Are Medical and Nonmedical Uses of Large-Scale Genomic Markers Conflating Genetics and ‘Race’?” Nature Genetics 36 (2004): S43–S47. The sometimes conflicting perspectives of African-American researchers, patients, and advocates, as well as other people of color, on the proper use of race in biomedical research are crucial to developing a socially just approach to this issue. While I hope to explore these perspectives in future scholarship, an extended exploration is beyond the scope of this article.

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Suppose, for example, a cardiologist prescribes BiDil as the only suitable therapy for an African-American patient and does not consider alternative therapies solely because of the patient's race. The patient may have a tort claim against the cardiologist if she is harmed by the cardiologist's failure to prescribe more effective medication on the basis of race alone.

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See supra note 7.

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The First Amendment limits but does not preclude the state's ability to restrict speech related to race in biomedical research. See Lillquist and Sullivan , “The Law and Genetics of Racial Profiling in Medicine,” supra note 11, at 448–450.