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Biomedical subjects

U Schüklenk

Publications and source records attributed to U Schüklenk.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Professional responsibilities of biomedical scientists in public discourse.

This article describes how a small but vocal group of biomedical scientists propagates the views that either HIV is not the cause of AIDS, or that it does not exist at all. When these views were rejected by mainstream science, this group took its views and arguments into the public domain, actively campaigning via newspapers, radio, and television to make its views known to the lay public. I describe some of the harmful consequences of the group's activities, and ask two distinct ethical questions: what moral obligations do scientists who hold such minority views have with regard to a scientifically untrained lay audience, and what moral obligations do mainstream newspapers and government politicians have when it comes to such views. The latter question will be asked because the "dissidents" succeeded for a number of years in convincing the South African government of the soundness of their views. The consequences of their stance affected millions of HIV infected South Africans severely.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2004

The standard of care debate: against the myth of an "international consensus opinion".

It is argued by Lie et al in the current issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics that an international consensus opinion has formed on the issue of standards of care in clinical trials undertaken in developing countries. This opinion, so they argue, rejects the Declaration of Helsinki's traditional view on this matter. They propose furthermore that the Declaration of Helsinki has lost its moral authority in the controversy in research ethics. Although the latter conclusion is supported by this author, it will be demonstrated in this paper that there is not such a thing as an international consensus opinion, and that the authorities used by Lie et al as evidence in support of their claim should not be relied upon as authorities or final arbiters in this debate. Furthermore, it will be shown that arguments advanced substantively to show that lower standards of care are ethically acceptable in the developing world, conflate scientific with economic reasons, and ultimately fail to bolster the case they are designed to support.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed2000

Protecting the vulnerable: testing times for clinical research ethics.

This paper describes a number of historical breaches of research ethics. Typically the victims of such breaches belong to vulnerable populations, such as prisoners, mentally disabled people, women and people in developing countries. This article provides a brief introduction to the main ethical approaches in bioethics. Subsequently it looks at a number of currently discussed ethical issues in clinical research ethics, notably the ethics standards of clinical trials in developing countries, the use of prisoners and incompetent people in clinical research, and the modus operandi of research ethics committees.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1996

The ethics of research into the cause(s) of homosexuality.

This paper gives a brief overview on the current state of the art of biomedical research on homosexuality. It concludes that so far the cause(s) of homosexuality is (are) unknown and that biomedical research has failed to provide evidence for a possible causation of homosexuality. We do think, however, that homosexuality is not merely a social construction and the quest for its cause is intelligible. It is less clear, however, whether research into the cause(s) of homosexuality should be done at all. We explore the different arguments brought forward in favor of doing this research and reject all of them. Furthermore, we argue that research into the causes of homosexuality is at the present time unethical and should not be undertaken. Research into the causes of homosexuality assumes more often than not that homosexuality is one or another form of mental illness or undesirable deviance from the heterosexual norm, and should be cured. These views will be criticized as heterosexist.

Brain↗
PubMed1995

The bioethics tabloids: how professional ethicists have fallen for the myth of tertiary transmitted heterosexual AIDS.

The hysteria and misconceptions about AIDS which are fostered and held by the popular press have been accepted uncritically by many bioethicists, who have not bothered to explore popular empirical claims in sufficient depth. As a result, and because ethicists attempt to sell moral problems in a manner not much different from the way the popular press attempt to sell newspapers, artificial dilemmas have been produced in professional journals. We concentrate on just one popular misconception about AIDS--that the heterosexual incidence of the syndrome is widespread--and show how bioethicists' unreflective acceptance of this myth has led them to make conceptual and practical errors.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

AIDS--beyond education.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The ethics of genetic research on sexual orientation.

Research into the genetic component of some complex behaviors often causes controversy, depending on the social meaning and significance of the behavior under study. Research into sexual orientation-simplistically referred to as "gay gene" research-is an example of research that provokes intense controversy. This research is worrisome for many reasons, including the fact that it has been used to harm lesbians and gay men. Many homosexual people have been forced to undergo "treatments" to change their sexual orientation. Other chose to undergo them to escape discrimination and social disapprobation. But there are other reasons to worry about such research. The very motivation for seeking an "origin" of homosexuality reveals homophobia. Moreover, such research may lead to prenatal tests that claim to predict for homosexuality. For homosexual people who live in countries with no legal protections these dangers are particularly serious.

Civil Rights↗