There is a view, expressed by some research ethics committees and health care professionals, that research should not, under any circumstance, be performed on dying patients. This paper begins to explore current attitudes towards palliative care research, although it becomes clear that the issues discussed apply to all fields of bio-medical research. Indeed the underlying principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice should apply to all groups of human subjects involved across all areas of research. The ethical principles should apply equally to healthy individuals as well as to those suffering from ill health, whether this be inherited or acquired, curable or terminal.
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