Risky research and bystander consent.

There is no quick and easy answer to the question whether research activities that endanger bystanders without their consent ever thereby violate those bystanders' rights. We cannot dismiss the idea that bystanders possess strong rights against researchers simply on the grounds that they are, after...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioethics Vol. 34; no. 9; pp. 912 - 918
Main Author: Hanser, Matthew
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Nov2020
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:There is no quick and easy answer to the question whether research activities that endanger bystanders without their consent ever thereby violate those bystanders' rights. We cannot dismiss the idea that bystanders possess strong rights against researchers simply on the grounds that they are, after all, merely bystanders. Indeed, it is easy to imagine scenarios in which researchers would be morally required to gain the informed consent of bystanders whom they risk harming. Whether bystander consent is required in any particular real‐world case will depend, in part, upon exactly how the research activity endangers them.