Dark Medicine: Rationalizing Unethical Medical Research (Bioethics and the Humanities) [Hardcover]

William R. LaFleur (Editor), Gernot Böhme (Editor), Susumu Shimazono (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 2007 | Series: Bioethics and the Humanities

The trial of the "German doctors" exposed atrocities of Nazi medical science and led to the Nuremberg Code governing human experimentation. In Japan, Unit 731 carried out hideous experiments on captured Chinese and downed American pilots. In the United States, stories linger of biological experimentation during the Korean War. This collection of essays looks at the dark medical research conducted during and after World War II. Contributors describe this research, how it was brought to light, and the rationalizations of those who perpetrated and benefited from it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lafleur and his coeditors have assembled a very useful group of essays looking at the abuse of medical research in wartime Japan and Germany, as well as in postwar America.... Recommended." -- Choice

"... a fascinating and timely new book... The take-home message of the 16 contributors to Dark Medicine is that a nation's books on past episodes of unethical practice should never be fully closed, and that ethical committees in science and medicine should never neglect the historical perspective of their own and other countries." -- New Scientist

"... Framed by the belief that unethical research is not simply a problem of the past, Dark Medicine lends thoughtful historical content to the discussion of modern-day dilemmas. The result is a unique fusion of philosophy, religion, history, and bioethics." -- John L. Zeller, MD, PhD, Contributing Editor, JAMA, 2008; 300(10)

"... This collection of essays lends relevance to this dark history in a way no computerized module on human subjects protection can." -- Preeti N. Malani, MD, MSJ, Veterans Affairs Healthcare System Ann Arbor, UMI, JAMA, 2008

"A great deal has been written in recent years about human subject research. This book is different and invaluable. Its focus is at once historical and international, bringing together commentators and scholars from a number of countries and a variety of disciplines. Human subject research raises one of the basic moral problems of modern medicine: in trying to do research to save the lives of the sick, how do we protect those whom we must use to carry out the research? This book deals richly and directly with a history of human subject research that has had many dark moments. This book will help us remember what many would prefer to forget." -- Daniel Callahan, Director, International Program, The Hastings Center

"By identifying and analyzing how the unethical was justified and rationalized, the authors draw moral and political lessons from this disturbing history that we have not yet really learned. -- Nie Jin" -- Bao, author of Medical Ethics in China

Review

The wisdom shared in Dark Medicine offers thoughtful guidance on how researchers should go about this harvest."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1 edition (June 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253348722
• ISBN-13: 978-0253348722
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #850,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)