An ethical problem; or, Sidelights upon scientific experimentation on man and animalsLeffingwell, Albert
Philosophy
An ethical problem; or, Sidelights upon scientific experimentation on man and animals
Leffingwell, Albert
Medicine, Experimental; Vivisection
5. All psychological experiments or tests which involve neither fear,
fright, nor mental distress of any kind.
II. Unjustifiable Experimentation upon Human Beings.
Experiments upon human beings which would seem to be immoral, because
obviously a violation of human rights, are as follows:
1. ALL EXPERIMENTS, TESTS OR OBSERVATIONS, LIABLE TO INVOLVE ANY
DEGREE OF PAIN, DISCOMFORT, OR DISTRESS, MADE UPON DYING CHILDREN, OR
CHILDREN APPARENTLY NEAR DEATH, FOR ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN THEIR
PRESENT PERSONAL RELIEF.
2. The use of new-born babes as material for research; the use as
material for research of any other defenceless children, in
orphanages, asylums, or in their own homes, for any purpose whatever
other than the direct personal benefit of the child upon whom the
experiment is made. Especially objectionable would seem to be
experiments of this character made in connection with the study of
syphilis, whether or not any obvious injury is the result.
3. All experiments liable to cause discomfort or distress, made
without purpose of definite individual benefit upon the insane, the
feeble-minded, the aged and infirm or upon other unfortunate human
beings, who, for any reason, are incapable of giving an intelligent
consent or of adequately comprehending what is done to them.
4. All experiments of any kin, upon other adults, whether patients or
inmates of public institutions or otherwise, if made without direct
ameliorative purpose and the intelligent personal consent of the
person who is the MATERIAL for the research.
5. The experimental exploitation without their free consent, of men,
temporarily under command or control of an authority which they have
been led to suppose they are not at liberty legally to disobey.
Let us repeat. THERE IS NO OBJECTION TO EXPERIMENTS UPON HUMAN
BEINGS, WHEN THERE IS NO INVASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. The medical
student, who, out of zeal for Science, offers his body for any
experimental test; the patient in the hosptial, who with adeuqate
compensation for what he is asked to undergo, grants consent to some
investigation which may help others, though not himself; the poor man
who is satisfactorily compensated for all risks, and therefore willing
to aid research,--such varieties of human experimentation do not
necessarily offend the moral sense. It is the incurable injustice of
experimentation upon infancy that can offer no protest but a cry; of
experimentation upon the dying child, of experimentation upon the
poor, the ignorant, the feeble-minded, the defenceless,--it is
experimentation like this which surely deserves the condemnation of
mankind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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