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Ethical and Legal Issues in Enhancement Research on Human Subjects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2011

MAXWELL J. MEHLMAN ,
JESSICA W. BERG ,
ERIC T. JUENGST  and
ERIC KODISH
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Extract

The United States, along with other nations and international organizations, has developed an elaborate system of ethical norms and legal rules to govern biomedical research using human subjects. These policies govern research that might provide direct health benefits to participants and research in which there is no prospect for participant health benefits. There has been little discussion, however, about how well these rules would apply to research designed to improve participants’ capabilities or characteristics beyond the goal of good health. When mentioned at all in the literature, this so-called enhancement research, as opposed to research aimed at diagnosing, preventing, curing, or treating illnesses or medical conditions, is usually dismissed without explanation.

Type
Special Section: Open Forum
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 30 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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