The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code: Human Rights in Human Experimentation - Hardcover

Annas, George J.

3.81

43 ratings by Goodreads

9780195070422: The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code: Human Rights in Human Experimentation

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195070429 ISBN 13: 9780195070422

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, 1992

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The atrocities committed by Nazi physicians and researchers during World War II prompted the development of the Nuremberg Code to define the ethics of modern medical experimentation utilizing human subjects. Since its enunciation, the Code has been viewed as one of the cornerstones of modern bioethical thought. The sources and ramifications of this important document are thoroughly discussed in this book by a distinguished roster of contemporary professionals from the fields of history, philosophy, medicine, and law. Contributors also include the chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal and a moving account by a survivor of the Mengele Twin Experiments. The book sheds light on keenly debated issues of both science and jurisprudence, including the ethics of human experimentation; the doctrine of informed consent; and the Code's impact on today's international human rights agenda. The historical setting of the Code's creation, some modern parallels, and the current attitude of German physicians toward the crimes of the Nazi era, are discussed in early chapters. The book progresses to a powerful account of the Doctors' Trial at Nuremberg, its resulting verdict, and the Code's development. The Code's contemporary influence on both American and international law is examined in its historical context and discussed in terms of its universality: are the foundational ethics of the Code as valid today as when it was originally penned? The editors conclude with a chapter on foreseeable future developments and a proposal for an international covenant on human experimentation enforced by an international court. A major work in medical law and ethics, this volume provides stimulating, provocative reading for physicians, legal professionals, bioethicists, historians, biomedical researchers, and concerned laypersons.

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Review:

fine collection of seventeen essays, written by prominent scholars in the field ... makes me appreciate the Nuremberg Code as a radical innovation in its time and as a milestone in the development of the consent doctrine in human experimentation ... renews my respect for the importance of institutional review boards as they struggle to implement the spirit of the Nuremberg Code by ensuring proper consent and protecting subects' welfare in today's research world. (Theoretical Medicine)

This laudable collection of essays does much to dispel the confusion and put the whole episode in a proper perspective for those of us who need to know ... this volume of essays is well worth reading. (Claire Gilbert Foster, King's College, London, Journal of Medical Ethics, 1995, 21)

Synopsis:

The Nazi atrocities committed during World War II prompted the development of the Nuremberg Code to guide the ethics of modern medical experimentation utilizing voluntary human subjects. This study examines the history, nature, scope and place of the Code in medical research.

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