The Nuremberg Code is a list of measures of ethical conduct in medical research on human beings, developed by the armed forces of the United States and its allies in the wake of the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. In as much as this may be surprising today, it can be noted that this was created to stop Nazi doctors from conducting medical experiments on prisoners which can be best described as inhuman and unethical.
This is a code of ethics that guides research processes with special concern to medical or scientific research needing human subjects. It defines the fundamental principles necessary to enable responsible research and adherent to human dignity and rights as well as welfare.
Voluntary consent has been one of the principles that formed part of the Nuremberg Code. It asserts that no individual who becomes a subject of any medical or scienti c experiment must do so under duress, pressure, or deception to participate. The participant must also reach a level of awareness of the research and its purpose, benefits and risks to enable him or her to decide whether to participate or not.
The code also requires that the idea of experimentation should bring about the social good profit and cannot be arrived at otherwise. This principle supports the reason for having to justify the research activity by the benefits that the society is likely to gain from them.
An experiment should be one that generates useful and applicable knowledge in medical or scientific areas for the better understanding of them.
Another remaining principle of the Nuremberg Code is the principle that the risks should be kept as low as possible. To that end, researchers are expected to protect the welfare and rights of the participants and guarantee that the benefits of doing the study are much greater than the costs or risks encountered in the course of the study.
Essentially, in conducting experiments, certain harm should not be caused including physical harm, mental harm or even injury. Additionally, if there is any indication that death or disabling injury could occur, the experiment should not go forward unless the same is true of the researchers .
Other principles of ethics of research under the Nuremberg Code contain the rule stating that experiments must be made by skilled personnel. The research should be supervised and conducted by persons with relevant knowledge, experience and skills to do so. This will help in making sure that safety and welfare of the participants are looked into during the course of the study.
Also, the code raises a number of points on participants’ rights, including their right to withdraw from the experiment at any one time. In case, a participant develops discomfort or has a change of mind, he or she should be allowed to quit the study. In turn, this principle strengthens continued respect the rights of moral agency and the core idea of volunteerism.
Even the researchers themselves are unable to avoid accountability measures stipulated in the Nuremberg Code. It is necessary for them to stop the experiment if they feel that the experiment harms the participants in case the experiment goes on. This principle captures the responsibility that various researchers have towards the subjects involved thus the emphasis on human life than on research.
In other words below is a summary of major aspects which make up the Nuremberg Code with a view of protecting rights, human dignity and lives of individuals participating in any medical or scientific research activity.
It remains an essential set of principles guiding ethical conduct of research to date, the principles include voluntary consent, pursuit of the societal good, minimization of risk to subjects, qualified leadership, right to withdraw and the researchers’ obligation to stop research that causes harm. They have greatly shaped the character of contemporary research ethics and current practice of humane research across the globe.
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