"THE voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential." So begins the Nuremberg Code, a set of ethical principles for human experimentation drawn up in response to Nazi atrocities. The code also states that subjects must have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the study to make an "enlightened decision". These principles of informed, voluntary consent are the backbone of most Western laws regarding research on humans. Even so, the history of biomedicine is littered with experiments that violate these tenets.
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