The Continuing Unethical Use of Placebo Controls - Essay Example

"The Continuing Unethical Use of Placebo Controls" is a perfect example of a paper on medical ethics. I disagree with the statement that it is unethical to deprive the control in an experiment. The role of control in an experiment is to validate the results of an experiment. This determines the quality of the results, as it provides a basis for comparison with other elements in the experiment. The presence of a control group increases the reliability of the test results.   

            Controls are essential in the process of conducting scientific experiments. The use of control trials is acknowledged to be superior to studies using active treatment due to their verifiability (Rothman & Michels, 1994). This is crucial in testing the efficiency of new drugs and determining the validity of the test results. This ensures that the experiment can produce results that can be relied upon in making crucial decisions on implementing the element under study.

            Control groups come in handy in both large and small experiments as they help reduce the costs of the experiments (Rothman & Michels, 1994). It is also necessary to minimize negative effects in case the test element is not effective. The control group can help identify undesirable effects of the element under study. This is crucial in minimizing the number of subjects affected by the test element.

            In conclusion, though ethical issues should not be ignored, using a control group helps determine the validity of the results, identifying any adverse effects of the elements under study, and ensuring the reliability of the test results. This is necessary for determines the usability of the results in deciding on implementing the element under study.  

Read More