BMJ 2000;321:442-445 ( 12 August )

Education and debate

For and against
    Declaration of Helsinki should be strengthened
    FOR
    AGAINST
    Rothman and Michels' riposte

Declaration of Helsinki should be strengthened

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The World Medical Association is now debating the next revision of the Declaration of Helsinki. Kenneth Rothman and Karin Michels argue that critics of the declaration, notably the US Food and Drug Administration, are trying to give scientists greater latitude than the declaration allows. In particular, Rothman and Michels dispute the morality of performing placebo controlled trials when there is an existing accepted treatment, and they offer other suggestions to strengthen the protection of patients who participate in medical experiments. Michael Baum argues against their absolutism on this issue and against what he considers their anti-science stance

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Kenneth J Rothman, professor, ^a Karin B Michels, assistant professor. ^b

^a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA 02118-2526, USA, ^b Harvard Medical School Obstetrics and Gynecology Epidemiology Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA

Correspondence to K J Rothman KRothman@bu.edu

Actions that penalise some for the good of others are defended under the utilitarian banner of doing the greatest good for the greatest number. For this reason we justify imposing quarantine to prevent the spread of infectious illness. In the same spirit some scientists and regulators would ask patients who participate in medical . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Myopic view

Eric Colman
bmj.com, 11 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Re: Myopic view

Kenneth J Rothman, et al.
bmj.com, 12 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Placebo confusion

Stephen Senn
bmj.com, 15 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Sometimes it's unethical to prohibit placebo control

Richard Anderson
bmj.com, 15 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Is democratic or dictatorial research the goal of the WHO debate about the

Hazel Thornton
bmj.com, 15 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Re: Placebo confusion

Kenneth J Rothman, et al.
bmj.com, 15 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Re: Sometimes it's unethical to prohibit placebo control

Kenneth J Rothman, et al.
bmj.com, 15 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Declaration of Helsinki MUST be strengthened

Roger M Goss
bmj.com, 20 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Declaration of Helsinki - more honesty please

Udo Schuklenk
bmj.com, 23 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Equipoise as an essential principle of human experimentation

R J Lilford, et al.
bmj.com, 25 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Standard treatment is compatible with use of placebo.

Peter Allmark
bmj.com, 24 Aug 2000 [Full text]

Equipoise: Analogies must have it.

Adan Rios
bmj.com, 9 Jul 2001 [Full text]

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