A researcher plans to study a new medication on patients who…
A researcher plans to study a new medication on patients who have tested positive for HIV, but have not developed AIDS. This medication has shown great results in previous studies. After enrolling subjects, the researcher assigns them to one group, either the control group who receive a placebo or the experimental group who receive the new medication. Since the medication will be very expensive when it becomes available, the researcher decides to assign those with good medical insurance to the group that receives the medication. His reasoning is that if it works, the subjects with good medical insurance will be able to continue to receive it after the study is completed. He assigns those subjects without medical insurance to the control group since they would not benefit from the medication after the study is completed because they wouldn’t be able to afford it. In this study, which ethical principle would you be most concerned about?
Read Details