the Belmont Report

A special provision exists however , for those with diminished autonomy . Though these individuals may be considered incompetent , their decisions (in as much as they are capable of ) should be respected and third parties deemed most likely to act in their best interests should likewise be consulted for their permission (The National Commission , 1979

The assessment of risks and benefits follows from the principle of beneficence and aims to systematically weigh the benefits versus the risks so that the acceptability of the latter may be better judged . The Report specifically saw this

requirement as a means for the researcher to examine the soundness of the research design , for the prospective subject to make an informed decision , and for the review board to assess the justifiability of the risks involved (The National Commission 1979

The last requirement on the other hand , follows from the principle of justice . Fairness in the selection of subjects involves both individual and social justice . Individual justice requires that selection should be unbiased so that no particular individuals are exclusively benefited while others deemed undesirable ' are relegated to studies that carry greater risks , while social justice calls for an of preference in the selection of classes of subjects ' which takes into account differences between classes , particularly , their different capacities to bear burdens as they may already be disadvantaged to start with (The National Commission , 1979

The Belmont Report served as the basis for the HHS (2006 ) Code of Federal Regulations which contains the policies governing human research . Prior to the report and federal regulations , researchers independently decided on the nature and conduct of their studies (OHRP 2004 , thus leaving adequate room for ethically questionable research With the establishment of the regulations however , human subjects were provided protection as researchers now work following set guidelines having Institutional Review...