Synopses & Reviews
The atrocities committed by Nazi physicians and researchers during World War II prompted the development of the Nuremberg Code to define the ethics of modern medical experimentation utilizing human subjects. Since its enunciation, the Code has been viewed as one of the cornerstones of modern bioethical thought. The sources and ramifications of this important document are thoroughly discussed in this book by a distinguished roster of contemporary professionals from the fields of history, philosophy, medicine, and law. Contributors also include the chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal and a moving account by a survivor of the Mengele Twin Experiments. The book sheds light on keenly debated issues of both science and jurisprudence, including the ethics of human experimentation; the doctrine of informed consent; and the Code's impact on today's international human rights agenda. The historical setting of the Code's creation, some modern parallels, and the current attitude of German physicians toward the crimes of the Nazi era, are discussed in early chapters. The book progresses to a powerful account of the Doctors' Trial at Nuremberg, its resulting verdict, and the Code's development. The Code's contemporary influence on both American and international law is examined in its historical context and discussed in terms of its universality: are the foundational ethics of the Code as valid today as when it was originally penned? The editors conclude with a chapter on foreseeable future developments and a proposal for an international covenant on human experimentation enforced by an international court. A major work in medical law and ethics, this volume provides stimulating, provocative reading for physicians, legal professionals, bioethicists, historians, biomedical researchers, and concerned laypersons.
Review
"An excellent and well-organized reader." --Journal of the American Medical Association
"Provides stimulating reading, and will appeal to a braod audience of clinical researchers, physicians, ethicists, historians or lay persons interested in the Nuremburg Code and the historical, legal, or ethical issues surrounding human experimentation." --Communique
Table of Contents
1. Introduction and Overview, George J. Annas and Michael A. Grodin
Part I: The Nazi Doctors and the Medical Experiments
2. Nazi Doctors, Racial Medicine and Human Experimentation, Robert Proctor, Ph.D.
3. Nazi Doctors, German Medicine and the Fight for Historical Truth, Christian Pross, M.D.
4. The Mengele Twins and Human Experimentation: A Personal Account, Eva Mozes-Kor, B.S.
Part II: The Doctor's Trial and the Nuremberg Code
5. Opening Statement of the Prosecution, Telford Taylor, LL.B., LL.D.
6. Judgement and Aftermath
7. Historical Origins of the Nuremberg Code, Michael A. Grodin, M.D.
Part III: The Role of Codes in International and U.S. Law
8. The Nuremberg Code Revisited: An International Overview, Sharon Perley, B.A., et al.
9. The War Crimes Trials: The Nuremberg Principles as Human Rights Protection in International Law, Robert Drinan S.J., J.D.
10. The Influence of the Nuremberg Code on United States Statutes and Regulations, Leonard H. Glantz, J.D.
11. The Nuremberg Code in the United States Courts: Ethics Vs. Expediency, George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H.
Part IV: The Nuremberg Code: Ethics and Modern Medical Research
12. The Consent Principles of the Nuremberg Code: Its Significance for Then and Now, Jay Katz, M.D.
13. Universality of the Nuremberg Code: Are Ethics Relative to Time and Geography?, Ruth Machlin, Ph.D.
14. No Comparison: The Doctor's Trial and Analogies to the Holocaust in Contemporary Bioethics Debates, Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.
15. Editorial Responsibility: Protecting Human Rights by Restricting Publication of Unethical Research, Marcia Angell, M.D.
16. Contemporary Therapeutic AIDS Research and the Legacy of the Nuremberg Code, Wendy K. Mariner, J.D., M.P.H.
Conclusion
17. Where do We Go From Here?, George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H. and Michael A. Grodin, M.D.