Ethics and Medical Science. On Voluntary Participation in Biomedical Experimentation

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed a drastic increase in biomedical research. As this type of research often implies experimentation with human subjects, ethical considerations concerning doctors' use of their patients in experiments become necessary. According to the Helsinki Declaration, the human sub jects must have given their informed consent before being included in any experiment. Based on a case from an ongoing research project concerning voluntary participation in experimentation this paper descnbes practices and attitudes of the doctor as well as the patient in the process of obtaining informed consent. It is however doubtful whether such consent is always obtained. The reason for this can be found in the educational background and research traditions of the medical profession. Patients are objectified and made powerless and thus become unable to make decisions about their own situations. The predominant ethics within the health sector are utilitarian ethics which regard the individual as means to an end Deontological ethics, on the other hand, demand respect for the autonomy and integrity of the individual. Future goals for deontological ethics are discussed.