Just sign on the dotted line

Consent in the context of human experimentation refers to the agreement of a volunteer to participate in an experiment with full knowledge of both the benefits and the risks of doing so. Therefore, if the researcher obtains a signed consent form, there are no questions of ethics that need be addressed. The nature of the experiment is of no consequence. Whether it is just a simple questionnaire or something outrageous that the average person would find unconscionable. In both cases the experiment would be completely viable due to the fact that someone has volunteered on their own accord. After all we live in a free world and are all at liberty to do what we want with our bodies and minds.

A perfect example of this need for consent and nothing more can be seen in the Jesse Gelsinger case. Despite the shock of his son’s death, Paul Gelsinger did not inculpate the doctors for it. However, after further investigations, information surfaced showing that the researchers had not fully disclosed all that they had known. There had been sufficient evidence suggesting that the researchers should not carry out the experiment due to the advertent risks but they chose to ignore these blatant stop signs. In light of this new information, Paul Gelsinger sued the researchers on account of the fact that the risks affiliated with the experiment were downplayed in the consent form. If all the risks had been disclosed from the very start, Paul Gelsinger would not have sued the researchers. This shows the ethical issue raised by the Gelsinger case is not that he died as a result of the gene therapy but that he was not fully informed of the risks.


Articles:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E4DE1F3CF93BA15752C1A96F958260
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11660806