Acknowledgments -- List of abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1. The origins of a moral logic of risk -- 2. Negotiating moral boundaries : the polio vaccines of 1934-1935 -- 3. Research sponsors and the culture of risk -- 4. Formalizing responses to research hazards -- 5. The social nature of moral action -- 6. Moral traditions in an era of government oversight -- Notes -- Selected bibliography -- Index
Summary
Research physicians face intractable dilemmas when they consider introducing new medical procedures. Innovations carry the promise of preventing or curing life-threatening diseases, but they can also lead to injury or even death. How have clinical scientists made high-stakes decisions about undertaking human tests of new medical treatments? In Lesser Harms, Sydney Halpern explores this issue as she examines vaccine trials in America during the early and mid-twentieth century. Today's scientists follow federal guidelines for research on human subjects developed during the 1960s and 1970s. But lo
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-222) and index
