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Arguments Against Prisoner Testing

Decent Essays

In the concentration camps of the Nazi Reich, hundreds of prisoners were tested on, in horrid medical experiments. The question of medical testing has been a heavily debated question since the start of our modern prison system. However, it seems quite obvious that even ignoring the blatant ethical issues at hand, prisoner testing is unviable at any large scale, due to the laws protecting prisoners as a vulnerable population. However, there is a point to be made about the relative cheapness of prisoners compared to other more commonly used test subjects. It would be possible to argue either way about prisoner testing, but in looking at the evidence the ethical and legal questions around prisoner testing provide a stronger base to argue from …show more content…

Ignoring specific examples (testing on prisoners specifically, instead of as an unbiased population), the work needed to revoke and change all the national and international laws shielding prisoners would be immense. Indeed, the Nuremberg Code alone could be a death blow, as ¨ẗhe voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.” (Nuremberg). Depending on the level of experimentation, consent from prisoners could be practically impossible to gain, making the experimentation fly in the face of the accepted Nuremberg Code. While it is not law, there are laws that essentially say the same thing, just with the ability to enforce it with the judicial system. Even in the UK and EU, in order to allow the forced testing of prisoners in the UK we would have to withdraw from numerous UK and EU laws such as The Human Rights Act, 1998.” (Why Testing on Prisoners). Putting aside the ethical, the legality of prisoner testing (especially if that entails testing on the same level as on mice, chimpanzees, etc.) is in a grey area at best, and completely illegal at the …show more content…

Modern law reflects this idea: “certain forms of research with prisoners are permissible but often require review and approval from several agencies.” (oprs.usc). After decades of developing these laws, one would think that the laws reflect a careful, ethical way of testing on prisoners. In other words, prisoners should be better protected than the average person in medical testing, but that does not mean medical experimentation should be abolished for prisoners. Again, modern law carries this sentiment because “detention centers generally reserve the right to disallow a research activity from going forward at their facility.” (oprs.usc). Beyond a legal standpoint, there is also an argument to be made about the freedom and rights of prisoners. Should a prisoner not be allowed to participate in experiments (of course if complete consent is given). Prisoner experimentation, while it should be under harsher and more stringent regulations, should not be disallowed completely, for both the freedom and right of the prisoner and for large medical

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