The principle of beneficence requires that researchers:
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Perform no deliberate harm to research subjects.
Minimise the risks and burdens to research subjects.
- For example, by exposing human subjects to experimental interventions only after sufficient pre-clinical laboratory and animal testing have been done.
Maximise the potential benefits to individual subjects and the wider society.
- For example, by conducting studies that are scientifically valid, reliable and as generalizable as possible to the wider population.
In all instances, a study should not be conducted if its risks are judged to be more than its potential benefits.
Certain experimental interventions are so technically premature and morally contentious that they are either highly restricted or prohibited in many parts of the world by law or regulation. An example is the editing of the human genome with the intention to create genetically-modified or genetically-enhanced human beings. (34,35)
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Chapter 8: Summary of Principles and Recommendations. In: Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance [Internet]. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2017 [cited 2019 Apr 16]. Available from: https://www.nap.edu/read/24623/chapter/10
Cyranoski D. The CRISPR-baby scandal: what’s next for human gene-editing. Nature. 2019 Feb 26;566:440. Available from: http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00673-1