Swinging on the Pendulum: Shifting Views of Justice in Human Subject Research
Hastings Center Report 31(3): 21-28, May-June 2001
Posted: 4 Sep 2014
Date Written: 2001
Abstract
Federal policies on human subjects research have undergone a progressive transformation. In the early decades of the twentieth century, federal policies largely relied on the discretion of investigators to decide when and how to conduct research. This approach gradually gave way to policies that augmented investigator discretion with externally imposed protections. We may now be entering an era of even more stringent external protections. Whether the new policies effectively absolve investigators of personal responsibility for conducting ethical research, and whether it is wise to do so, remains to be seen.
Keywords: human subjects, research, protection, federal policies
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