The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code: Human Rights in Human Experimentation

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.

Table of Contents:
1: George J. Annas and Michael A. Grodin: Introduction and Overview Part I: The Nazi Doctors and the Medical Experiments 2: Robert Proctor, Ph.D.: Nazi Doctors, Racial Medicine and Human Experimentation 3: Christian Pross, M.D.: Nazi Doctors, German Medicine and the Fight for Historical Truth 4: Eva Mozes-Kor, B.S.: The Mengele Twins and Human Experimentation: A Personal Account Part II: The Doctor's Trial and the Nuremberg Code 5: Telford Taylor, LL.B., LL.D.: Opening Statement of the Prosecution 6: Judgement and Aftermath 7: Michael A. Grodin, M.D.: Historical Origins of the Nuremberg Code 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: Robert Drinan S.J., J.D.: The War Crimes Trials: The Nuremberg Principles as Human Rights Protection in International Law 10: Leonard H. Glantz, J.D.: The Influence of the Nuremberg Code on United States Statutes and Regulations 11: George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H.: The Nuremberg Code in the United States Courts: Ethics Vs. Expediency Part IV: The Nuremberg Code: Ethics and Modern Medical Research 12: Jay Katz, M.D.: The Consent Principles of the Nuremberg Code: Its Significance for Then and Now 13: Ruth Machlin, Ph.D.: Universality of the Nuremberg Code: Are Ethics Relative to Time and Geography? 14: Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.: No Comparison: The Doctor's Trial and Analogies to the Holocaust in Contemporary Bioethics Debates 15: Marcia Angell, M.D.: Editorial Responsibility: Protecting Human Rights by Restricting Publication of Unethical Research 16: Wendy K. Mariner, J.D., M.P.H.: Contemporary Therapeutic AIDS Research and the Legacy of the Nuremberg Code Conclusion 17: George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H. and Michael A. Grodin, M.D.: Where do We Go From Here?

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 "Engrossing, giving the reader genuine insights into the nature of the debates." --Science "This 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." --Issues in Law and Medicine "An excellent and well-organized reader." --Journal of the American Medical Association "The book is rich in data both on the Nazi doctors' trial and on the subsequent history of the informed-consent doctrine in clinical research. For anyone interested in the problems of clinical research on human subjects, this compendium should be a valuable reference work and a source of insights as well as relevant facts. Because it addresses a complex problem from the perspective of what may be the most extreme cases imaginable, it casts deep shadows, even while illuminating parts of its subject. But at the same time it serves to remind the reader of the temptations to which even the most scrupulous physicians, operating on the frontiers of clinical research, are exposed." --The New England Journal of Medicine "The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremburg Code should be read by all physicians, indeed by all who have an interest in medical research involving human subjects." --International Journal of Health Legislation "This book has the power to illuminate." --Social Science Medicine "The book provides a timely overview of issues surrounding the historical background of the Code and its importance to contemporary discussions, up to and including proposed research on soldiers during the Gulf War. It should be in any library that has even a modest interest in the ethics of research."--Religious Studies Review "Ranks as a welcome addition to the many reflections lately being gathered on the Nuremberg trials. Its editors, both recognized for their qualifications in bioethics, offer a well-integrated and organized collection of worthwhile essays from a broad range of fields. . . . concludes with a well-prepared summary by the editors that might well be read first. Cross references within most of the chapters add greatly to this book's effectiveness and reflect the care with which it was edited. Virtually without typographical errors, the volume is attractively presented and reasonably priced, enhanced by a careful index and a rich collection of primary sources." --Journal of the History of Medicine "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 "This laudable collection of essays does much to dispel the confusion and put the whole episode in a proper perspective for those of us who need to know....In all, this volume of essays is well worth reading."--Journal of Medical Ethics "Profound questions are raised, usefully discussed..."--Disability Studies Quarterly Reviewed in Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law "This is an important book...especially in a period when genetic images of human perfection are again culturally and scientifically rampant....Worth adding to the shelf for Holocaust studies."--Holocaust and Genocide Studies