Ethical dilemma in using Placebos for drug research

Abstract

Article 6(2) of the Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights clearly states that scientific research on human subjects should only be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned. This Declaration inevitably creates ethical dilemma in medical research. During tests on new drugs, researchers usually divide patients into two groups. The experimental group receives the “test” drug to be tested. The control group is given a placebo, a resemblance of the “test” drug but with no medicinal value in it. This group is never told the truth about the placebo, so they believe they are receiving proper treatment just like other patients. Hence, the ethical dilemma! The researcher is caught between the obligation to tell the truth, as required by Article 6(2), and the need to conceal truth, as required by scientific methodology. This paper examines this dilemma through the lens of two divergent ethical theories of Utilitarianism and Categorical Imperative, expounded by John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant respectively. To resolve this dilemma, the paper suggests that the researcher be guided by either or both of these theories to help decide whether or not the use of placebo is an ethically justifiable lie. Key words: Consent, experimental group, “test” drug, control group, Utilitarianism, Categorical Imperative.