Human Medical Experimentation: Does the Subject Matter?

     Often, in matters of human exploitation, we believe that abuse is less of a moral issue if the victim is someone like a pedophile, rapist, or murderer who has repeatedly broken the law. For this reason, I will regard these criminals specifically in this essay. While more severe forms of punishment, such as forms of the death penalty, used against like culpable individuals would be more morally permissible due to the nature of their crimes than it would be if they were petty criminals, the more intense and abusive the punishment, the less morally permissible it is for anyone.

     Illegal human exploitation, (sometimes) torture, and poor treatment during medical experimentation, while capable of yielding extremely relevant and important results, is not moral in any account. Humans should not be reduced to the rank of animals and used as little more than lab rats, as was done in this specific case. As compared to severe forms of punishment, treatment of humans in this way is immoral because one treats them against their will as a means to an end. Additionally, abuse of the victim is inappropriate since, in most cases, s/he has not done anything to merit exploitation; the article describes that prisoners of war, some women, children, and even innocent villagers were used in the experiments. In some cases concerning morality, consent makes a difference in the determination of an action’s ethical value; here, it holds no weight. This is because one of the pillars of the victim’s humanity is being denied recognition by the medical experimenters: rationality, which leads to the formation of one’s dreams, desires, goals, and intentions. Ignoring that another human has these aspirations is gravely disrespectful to his/her personhood and dignity.

     However, in strict forms of punishment, a human maintains his/her “end” status as a subject, not an object. The judge is not using the criminal, who is not a victim in this case, for personal gain in this instance. Also, despite the fact that the justice system is not perfect, criminals who do receive severe forms of punishment for their actions ideally deserve their sentences and have had chances in the past to ameliorate themselves. Thus, unlike before, these criminals had a chance in determining their futures. Finally, the criminal, knowing the price for a repeated offense, chooses to forgo his/her dreams, desires, goals, and intentions. Thus, s/he commits a crime unto him/herself.

     In conclusion, it is not the subject who matters, since even the culpable are wronged by exploitative medical experimentation. What does matter, however, is the treatment of the person and the respect towards his/her defining qualities in the destructive act.