PHI 2396 Lecture 6: Bioethics - Chapter 6
14 Dec 2017
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Clinical trial: scientific studies designed to test medical interventions in humans. They can derive reliable answers because they maximize the objectivity of observations, minimize bias, and avoid errors. Main requirements for a clinical trial: control group (placebo, active treatment, blinding, randomization. There is also substantial agreement on the general moral principles that apply to human research autonomy, beneficence, and justice. Some critics argue that controlled trials treat subjects merely as a means to the end of scientific knowledge. Others argue that physicians do no wrong to their patients who enter a clinical trial if the physicians are in equipoise, rationally balanced between the alternative treatments. Debate about using control groups intensifies in placebo-controlled trials: the most widely accepted view is that the use of placebos is unethical when effective treatments are already available. It is widely agreed upon that the informed consent of subjects is essential for morally acceptable research.
