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Body matters: rethinking the ethical acceptability of non-beneficial clinical research with children

De Clercq, Eva ; Badarau, Domnita ; Ruhe, Katharina ; Wangmo, Tenzin

In: Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2015, vol. 18, no. 3, p. 421-431

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    Titre
    • Body matters: rethinking the ethical acceptability of non-beneficial clinical research with children
    Auteur
    • De Clercq, Eva. Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistr 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
    • Badarau, Domnita. Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistr 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
    • Ruhe, Katharina. Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistr 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
    • Wangmo, Tenzin. Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistr 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Anglais
    Publié dans
    • Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2015, vol. 18, no. 3, p. 421-431. Springer Netherlands
    Autre version électronique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:331418
    Summary
    The involvement of children in non-beneficial clinical research is extremely important for improving pediatric care, but its ethical acceptability is still disputed. Therefore, various pro-research justifications have been proposed throughout the years. The present essay aims at contributing to the on-going discussion surrounding children's participation in non-beneficial clinical research. Building on Wendler's ‘contribution to a valuable project' justification, but going beyond a risk/benefit analysis, it articulates a pro-research argument which appeals to a phenomenological view on the body and vulnerability. It is claimed that children's bodies are not mere physical objects, but body-subjects due to which children, as persons, can contribute to research that may hold no direct clinical benefit to them even before they can give informed consent.