BODIJA JOURNAL | A Philosophico-Theologal Journal

Ethical abuse of human subjects is still prevalent in researches and biomedical research is a culprit of such abuses. Biomedical research as the use of modern day medical technology to test hypothesis so as to deduce conclusions that are generalizable as theories and principles involve both human and animal subjects. If such research is not morally guided, it runs the danger of abusing the sacredness of human life, ditto, the human person. Therefore, Ethics as the philosophical science, which establishes the moral order of human acts would necessarily be required to check and balance the procedural systems of such research. It is within this context that this paper investigates the role of ethics in biomedical research. This paper observes that unethical procedures still prevail in researches and brings about harm to the human subjects. Appealing to the Kantian moral imperatives, it opines that human subjects should never be treated as means to an end but as end in themselves. It succinctly elucidates on the relevance of ethics in researches involving human subjects, particularly, biomedical research.

Open Full Text (PDF)