Offensive Question-Why Not Use Prisoners For Medical Testing?

Question

I mean the prisoners who are serving life terms, with no chance of parole, why not use them as Guinea Pigs, I mean that way companies won't need to pay participants to try out new drugs, and you won't have to use animals (even though humans are animals). I mean ,I see it as win win for mankind.

Test drug on humans to see it they actual work.

Not trying to offend buy asking a real and legitimate question?

Are we not wasting a resource?

Answer 1

There are so many ethical (to say nothing about legal) problems with your question, I just don't have enough space to begin to answer them all. Here's just one reason to think about: Given the problems in the justice system, it is entirely possible that you would be experimenting on a person who has been wrongly convicted. How would you feel if this were to happen?

Answer 2

Because for our nation, we consider men to be in possession of certain unalienable rights...and some of those rights are not lost when you go to prison. Your freedom is taken...but not your humanity. Even a person on death row has the right to live the rest of their time without that king of invasion of their persons.

It's a question of ethics. I wonder, if it was someone from your family, would you be ok with it? I feel no sorrow for companies who pay for participants...this kind of thing should never have money tied to it...yet one more reason for national health care.

Answer 3

Actually, some drugs *are* tested on prisoners. Proper medical and ethical protocols are used, which means the prisoners must voluteer, but sign an informed consent form, and usually are paid a small stipend, and have their sentences reduced.

Of course, these tests are performed after the drugs are tested for safety on animals.

Answer 4

They have in the past..They experimented with the Rh factor, and effects of syphilis. Some experimenters didn't even bother to tell their "subjects"..or treat them after the experiment was over.. Then you have the great experiments that the Nazi's did..look up Josef Mengele .. I hate animal testing.. It would never be right to force humans to be test subjects!

Answer 5

After Hitler did much of that and after the war The Geneva Convention banned human experiments and torture.

Besides we have rats and other animals in the labs to experiment with, Im not saying it is fair but it is more fair that human experiments.

Answer 6

Interesting question.

I think the empathy that evolved with the human race, forbids it.

It is one thing to consider using humans as experimental tools, its quite another to actually be the one doing it.

Hitler behaved that way, and in order for his minions to be able to carry out the experimentations, they had to convince themselves that the recipients weren't quite as 'human' as themselves.

Prisoners are humans, so don't deserve medical experimentation.

Answer 7

Offensive Answer:
Because it's immoral. This is still the United States of America, not Nazi Germany...nor present-day China.

Answer 8

Cruel and unusual punishement. Besides, if anything WERE to go wrong, then we would be using the tax payers money to hospitalize them. This is crude but true, a rat can't sue the governement.

Answer 9

What's offensive about that?
I still think that they should get paid, or better yet, pay their victims or victim's relatives...I truly believe that $0.50 per/hour wont brake those "Mengele" Pharmaceutical companies, even better, that would send them to a lower tax bracket.

Answer 10

I once suggested that homeless people be recruited to be screened for military duty (not necessarily combat), and got ripped to shreds for it.

I still don't think it's a bad idea, and for those who are deemed eligible, it's a win-win.