Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrom - Essay Example

AIDS
In the 1990s when research became necessary to find out about different treatment options the medical institutes began to enroll foster children in their programs. The research was carried out on these foster children to find out about the effects of the drugs so that they could possibly find out a cure for different diseases. Their rights were violated by the medical institutes because they did not appoint an advocate for the whole process. In research like this, it is necessary that a neutral advocate is kept in between so that he can watch over the children and find out if anything wrong goes around. Foster children were chosen as the subjects of the research although these children are not mature enough to decide about their good and bad. Children should never be asked for permission in this matter and the state should have taken up the matter to not allow the research on these children. The family of the children was informed about the process and side effects that the drug may have on the children. The medical institutes also provided a helpline number along with the possible problems that the child may have to face in the family. However, in some cases, it is highlighted that the families were not informed that a neutral advocate was not chosen when the child was kept under the research. Carrying out the research on the children can have a particularly adverse effect on them and this was not taken into consideration. Medical ethics do come into the role in these kinds of cases as human subjects who are not mature enough to understand the topics closely should not choose as subjects. Everyone has a constitutional right to decide about his life and the children should have been given the opportunity of doing so. The drugs being tested on the children showed different side effects and many of them died too. This proves that the medical ethics failed in the research and the children probably died because of the carelessness of the relevant authorities.

This kind of research should be stopped because of its controversial nature. Foster children should never be selected for the studies until they are willing to do so themselves.