A Public Documentary on the History of Research Ethics
Ethical behavior means living in the right way. However, there is much more to ethics than this. Human research is a field that has grown over time, and ethical research implies surveys conducted with the right intentions. The researchers are associated with risks, and things may go wrong even when the intentions were right, and necessary care was considered. Some mistakes were intentionally made, though on rare cases when handling human subjects. There existed no rules and guidelines concerning humans as subjects in research (The National Library of Medicine 03:33). There evolved an evolutionary concern of the protection of human subjects. The main points in the history of the research ethics documentary were the need to advance research and develop the biomedical field and protect human subjects.
In the year one thousand nine hundred and twenty-six, the biomedicine started evolving, and there was a need to diagnose, treat, and cure diseases. There was an increased demand to discover medicine for the growing population. This increased research implied an increment in the number of human subjects subjected to examination. There is a developed need to advance the medical process, and the researchers require adequate and exact findings to develop the medical field. For instance, there was a need to develop malaria vaccines in Nuremberg (The National Library of Medicine 06:46-07:02). The doctors here decided to subject prisoners into their research by using them as cultures and subjects for these tests. The results were that most of these subjects died, with only a few surviving.
Although there was a need to develop vaccines, the tremendous loss was faced. The actions here show the need for formulating rules and guidelines for protecting human subjects. Researchers conduct researches hoping for the best of people. There was a barn of studies, where there was a possibility of a disaster not unless the medical practitioners themselves participated. The world medical associated went ahead to formulate guidelines for protecting human subjects.
The other main point was the need to protect human subjects during researches. The need to advance the medical field called for increased human subjects being subjected to various tests. However, this was a risky undertaking; therefore, the subjects required assurance of safety, and the researchers have bestowed the responsibility of protecting these subjects. The need to safeguard subjects led to developing a code of ethics, which served as guidelines.
The codes outlined some requirements, such as the need for voluntary consent from the subject. Patients were supposed to know was supposed to know the medication they would receive. It was important to use human subjects when necessary; otherwise, animal subjects were recommended before using human subjects. For the subjects to be protected, only the qualified professionals should undertake the research. Subjects are allowed to withdraw anytime, and in case of impending danger, experiments are supposed to stop. The need to protect subjects led to the formation of groups and committees for handling the matter.
Thalidomide drug was introduced in the United States and administered to patients without letting them know it was experimental to realize that its administration to pregnant women could lead to deformed babies’ birth (The National Library of Medicine 15:04). In this case, there was no voluntary consent of the subjects, which is where the code of ethics applies. The numerous instances of tests on patients without their permission increased fear and mistrust of the medical professional. In other research, subjected would be authorized to undertake things they considered unworthy, which would, in turn, harm others (The National Library of Medicine 16:44). Different doctors and experts requiring protection raised numerous articles and complaints, and some attracted media coverage like the case of syphilis research in Alabama where the subjects were not given treatment (The National Library of Medicine 18:33).
The increased concerns from the public, psychologists, and physicians, among others, triggered James Shannon to establish a committee to ensure that the subjects were protected adequately. National Research Act was formulated in the year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-four to increase human subjects’ protection. Additionally, Institution Review Board was established to review social research. Further, the National Commission for protecting human subjects of biomedical and behavioral research was established, serving as a representative of both and science and society. Belmont report acts as a summary of the basic principles which underlie research (The National Library of Medicine 20:54-20:56). All these established bodies are working to ensure respect for the subjects as well as maximizing benefits while minimizing possible harm.
Work Cited
The National Library of Medicine. A Public Documentary on the History of Research Ethics. YouTube, uploaded by Glenn, McGee, Oct 17, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfrpFwIwug