Revised Declaration of Helsinki

doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7307.283

BMJ 2001;323:283 ( 4 August )

Letters

Revised Declaration of Helsinki

Ethics is not just for ethicists

WMA will continue to revise policy as medicine and research changes

Authors' reply

Ethics is not just for ethicists

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

EDITOR $---$ Singer and Benatar's editorial on revisions of the Declaration of Helsinki proposes "capacity development," definedas an increased number of professionals trained in ethics.¹Although this is indeed a step that needs to be taken, I cannotagree that it alone will advance the cause of ethical research,especially with the plans that the authorspropose.

The assumption that having more trained people will change the system satisfies a necessary but not sufficient criterion.The fact that there are more doctors in the developing world todaythan there were 20 years ago does not mean either that the practiceof medicine is better or that health needs are addressed. It dependson what these people trained in ethics do, where they do it, howthey sustain their efforts, and how they integrate their contributionswithin the overall health development ofnations.

The numbers and budgets presented in the proposal . . . [Full text of this article]

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