SPECIAL SECTION: ETHICAL LIMITS IN HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH
The Involuntary Research Subject
JERRY MENIKOFF a1 a1 Jerry Menikoff, M.D., J.D., is Associate
Professor of Law, Ethics, and Medicine and Associate Director of the
Institute for Law, Bioethics, and Public Policy at the University of
Kansas, Kansas City
Informed consent is the bedrock principle on which most of modern
research ethics rest. That principle, like most others, has some
exceptions, such as for emergency situations and for some studies
involving very low risk. But what about situations that do not fall
into either of these categories? Are there such research studies that
are so important to society that we nonetheless are willing to involuntarily
enroll subjects, without their informed consent?
