¶ … Swinging the Pendulum: Shifting Views of Justice in Human Subjects Research" By Ana Mastroianni And Jeffrey Kahn (542-547)
Compare the conception of justice in the Belmont era to the conception of justice in the 1990s? What is the significance of these shifting views of justice?
The conception of justice in the Belmont era pertains to realizing that vulnerable groups, such as prisoners, elderly populations or children, can be exploited by researchers, who do not gain informed consent -- and thus justice was viewed as something that could protect these groups or prevent their exploitation from occurring. An example of exploitation that occurred would be the Tuskegee experiments, where a minority group (blacks) were not told they had syphilis by researchers nor were they told they were part of a study. They were deliberately not treated even when treatment was available because they were the control of the experiment (to see what sort of effect syphilis would have on the body). This was exploitation that occurred for 40 years from 1932 to 1972. Thus, the Belmont era perceives this and views justice in terms relating to this kind of exploitation by researchers, who may be attempting to come to a great good (understanding) but employ underhanded and unethical methods of arriving at that understanding.
The...
In other words, researchers are reverting back to the mindset that allowed the Tuskegee experiment to be conducted: it consists of an indifference to ethical standards because of a focus on the utilitarian object/principle underlying the experiment/research.
The significance of this shift in views of justice shows that research has come full circle from the 1930s and that a better balance needs to be struck in terms of showing respect and care for human life in all capacities (and adherence to ethical behavior such as informed consent) and the need for understanding. Leaning too far one way or the other is dangerous.
2. How does the shift in the conception of justice ensure that research subjects are adequately protected?
The emphasis on obtaining informed consent is particularly important in this regard. Ethical standards are now very standardized and researchers are made aware of their ethical responsibilities in terms of what they owe their patients or whoever it is they are treatment as well as participants in any studies that they perform. The era of litigation has made…
