NAZI DOCTORS & THE NUREMBERG CODE: Human Rights in Human Experimentation - Softcover

GRODIN

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195101065 ISBN 13: 9780195101065

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1995

Synopsis

The Nazi atrocities committed by researchers and physicians during the Second World War prompted the development of the Nuremberg Code to guide the ethics of modern medical experimentation utilizing voluntary human subjects. Since its inception, the Code has been viewed as one of the cornerstones of modern bioethical thought. This book examines the nature, scope and proper place of the Nuremberg Code in medical research. The ramifications of this important document are thoroughly discussed by a distinguished group of contemporary professionals from the fields of both medicine and law.

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 formed? The editors conclude with a chapter on foreseeable future developments.

About this title

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

This timely and definitive book examines the nature, scope and proper place of the Nuremberg Code in medical research. Nuremberg has not only played a pivotal role in the ethics and law of human experimentation, it is also a seminal event in the history of codes of human ethics. This book analyses Nazi medicine and its role in setting the standards for human experimentation, and traces the role the Code has played in shaping research ethics and regulation from 1947 to the present.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195101065
• ISBN 13: 9780195101065
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 393