Ethical Dilemmas at Willowbrook Mental Institution Essay Example

of immunity to hepatitis in both groups. In a second study, researchers injected newly admitted children with protective antibodies.

Some of these students were deliberately infected with a Willowbrook strain of the hepatitis virus. There was a defense of the deliberate injection put together by the principal investigators that pointed out the vast majority of them acquired the infection while at Willowbrook, and it would be better for them to be infected under carefully controlled research conditions. While the study was being conducted Willowbrook closed its doors to new admissions because of overcrowded conditions.

However, the hepatitis program, because it occupied its own space at the institution, was able to continue to admit new patients. Thus, in some cases, parents found that they were unable to admit their child to Willowbrook unless they agreed to his or her participation in the studies. This case caused a public outcry because of the perception that parents and their children were given little choice about whether or not to participate in research. Respect for persons and fairness were violated.

The study provided an undue inducement because students were given a coveted spot in Willowbrook in a newer part of the facility if they participated in the research. Parents and their children were not truly informed about the risks of the study. Children in a mental health facility can’t fully understand the risks of a study they are participating in. The methods by which children were recruited are also questionable. Parents were unduly induced to give their consent.

The public outcry over this case was largely due to the impression that parents had little choice over whether or not to participate in the

research. Parents who wanted care for their children may not have had any other options. It is not appropriate to use a vulnerable, institutionalized population for experiments. Feeding live hepatitis virus to mentally disabled children in order to deliberately infect them does not respect them as persons. (Boylin, Scott, 2006)