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There are many categories and gradations of human experimentation. They range from noninvasive studies such as demographic analyses of ethnic groups in poverty areas to the experimental transplantation of heart and lungs into a dying patient. Regardless of the category or the quality of the study, the principles involved are the same.

Since the emphasis of this work is medicine, my discussion is restricted to experiments that involve medical or surgical studies of the human body. The problems pertaining to sociological or nonhuman biological experiments will not be discussed. All four ethical principles become pertinent in human experimentation programs.

There are many categories and gradations of human experimentation. They range from noninvasive studies such as demographic analyses of ethnic groups in poverty areas to the experimental transplantation of heart and lungs into a dying patient. Regardless of the category or the quality of the study, the principles involved are the same.

Since the emphasis of this work is medicine, my discussion is restricted to experiments that involve medical or surgical studies of the human body. The problems pertaining to sociological or nonhuman biological experiments will not be discussed. All four ethical principles become pertinent in human experimentation programs.

The purpose of research is to advance human knowledge in the hope that it may benefit society for the common good. But in spite of the fantastic advances in both knowledge and technical sophistication, it is not quite certain that people are better or happier as a result of research studies, although we may live longer.

We have been inclined to surround research with a mantle of sanctity. To challenge experimentation is to challenge progress, but what makes human beings unique is not superior reasoning, nor sophistication and technical prowess, but the ability to understand and feel the needs of fellow human beings -- to feel compassion and tenderness, and to respect the dignity of others. The value of knowledge gained through experimentation is never so great that we may neglect our respect for one another.

All too often, both society and the scientist may be so blind in the thirst for knowledge and the status associated with it that the rights and safety of individuals are ignored. Although the expansion of knowledge should not be deprecated, its relationship to moral values must be reexamined. If individual rights are ignored in the pursuit of knowledge, it may be more dangerous and destructive than the inhibition of scientific progress. In the words of Hans Jonas, failure to safeguard human rights may lead to "the erosion of those moral values whose loss, possibly caused by too ruthless a pursuit of scientific progress, would make its most dazzling triumphs not worth having." (Jonas, 1972, p. 148)

A healthy scientific dedication and respect for moral values are not mutually exclusive. But a conflict of interest exists and the researcher must face it. There is a psychological and practical need for the scientist to do research, especially in an academic environment. This need may cloud the researcher's sense of ethics. The pressures to publish or perish are real.

Researchers should have a sense of responsibility for the effect of their work, but that does not mean they must be held publicly accountable for the misuse or undesirable effects of the research. But the consequences of the use and possible misuse of new data should be taken into consideration. It is for this reason that there has been so much discussion regarding genetic engineering of bacteria and the development of new strains whose effect upon society may yet be unknown. If the new data can be dangerous or misused, then the research team must make every effort to prevent that misuse before it is published. This may not always be feasible. Responsibility toward the common good holds true for sociological as well as biological and physical studies. This sense of social responsibility is as important as the scholarship, integrity and meticulous attention to detail that scientists must have in their work. . .

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