Segments of the population that are more vulnerable than others to ethical violations

Segments of the population that are more vulnerable than others to ethical violations

There are specific segments of the population that frequently recur in the media as the victims of these bioethics scandals. The segments of the population that are more vulnerable than others to ethical violations include minorities, lower income and lower-educated segments, rare disease sufferers and individuals in developing countries. Foremost, minorities in several countries, both developed and developing, are more vulnerable to ethical violations as they are typically less informed about their civil rights.(Moore, 2010) Linguistic, cultural and educational barriers may exist for them in their integration into society, which may cause them to be unaware of their individual rights when it comes to consenting to experimental medical treatments, euthanasia, stem cell therapy or GMO products. As a result of their lack of awareness over the potential harms and ethical implications of these products, minorities are often unwitting victims of these treatments.

Secondly, lower income and lower educated segments are also more vulnerable to ethical violations. These segments are typically less educated about the implications and risks of recent scientific advancements such as genetically modified organisms, stem cell therapy and drug trials. They are also often unable to pay for ‘gold standard’ treatments, and may opt for more experimental alternatives due to a lack of financial ability to pay for regular treatments. As a result, these lower income and lower educated segments of a population may fall prey to experimental biomedical trials or novel products that may pose harms or ethical problems, which they may not be aware of.

Thirdly, rare and uncurable disease sufferers are often the target of experimental drug trials that pharmaceutical companies push aggressively, even in the face of potential ethical violations. (Moore, 2010) Individuals suffering from rare forms of cancer, allergic diseases, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, HIV-AIDS, Ebola and Hepatitis B may consider their condition hopeless, as there exist no known cures for these treatments. In the face of a lack of treatment options and a lack of time remaining to treat the disease before they succumb to it, such individuals may often opt to be treated by ethically problematic treatments which are still in the experimental phase, and may suffer even more severe health consequences as a result.

Finally, individuals in developing countries often lack basic access to healthcare, sanitation and medication. These individuals may therefore be enticed by clinical trials that offer experimental therapies at low or no cost, or therapies that may even provide financial remuneration for individuals who accept their administration. Several bioethical scandals have also been linked to developing countries, such as organ markets in India, where individuals are coerced through financial or violent means to donate their organs for sale. The stigma surrounding diseases such as HIV-AIDS and mental health is also more severe in developing countries with lower awareness of such diseases, which may make such individuals more susceptible to experimental and ethically problematic forms of treatment. (Yadavendu et al, 2009)

Protections that are in place to serve as safeguards against ethical violations

In response to the above bioethics problems, and to protect the segments of the population that are more vulnerable than others to ethical violations, protections have been put in place to serve as safeguards, in terms of regulation, democratic deliberation, public-private partnerships, non-governmental organisation campaigns and media exposes.

Foremost, regulatory authorities such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), backed by legislation such as the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) of 1938, gives the U.S. government the expressed authority to regulate, police and monitor the quality of products manufactured by biomedical and healthcare authorities. (Hoffmaster, 2009) Such regulation ensures that imported products are compliant with FDA regulations, and that counterfeit ingredients are not used which may be harmful to consumers.

Secondly, several countries, such as the United States, feature systems of democratic deliberation that allow citizens a voice to determine the legality of new medical technologies. For example, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics and the U.S. House Committee on Ethics regularly deliberate on the ethical issues of major bioethical dilemmas such as abortion law, euthanasia law, assisted suicide law and GMO status. (Hoffmaster, 2009) They regularly call upon expert witnesses on both sides of the aisle to testify on the ethical issues at hand, and the representatives of such democratic systems are ultimately held accountable by their electorate and constituents. Furthermore, several leading academic and r