Abstract
The issue of informed consent in biomedical research has attained paramout importance these days as multicentred collaborative research involves recruitment of subjects who are semi-literate and unaware of their own rights. Impressionistic judgments have been passed regarding the capability of such subjects to grasp the issues involved in the concept of informed consent. Procedures less rigorous than those used in developed countries have been advocated under such conditions. This paper examines the various facets of this ethical problem and cautions against any dilution in the time-honoured practices of giving an individual his/her right to total autonomy and the consequent right to withdraw at any stage from any experimental project without assigning any reasons. The author also cautions against the tendency on behalf of clinician-investigators to exploit the doctor-patient relationship so as to fulfil their own professional ambitions, neglecting in the process the legal and ethical rights of patients.
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