Informed consent: still a useful tool in research ethics

Abstract

This article dicusses informed consent (IC): its evolution, its main challenges, and its theoretical assumptions. This process involves the interrelation of IC with the history and evolution of research ethics, and with some abuses committed in biomedical research. The article also presents the objections to IC, especially those related to its implementation in developing countries. It also approaches the epistemological problems and those related to the capacity of acting, given the background conditions in which IC is obtained. Furthermore, the article exposes the traditional justification of IC as conveyed by the Belmont Report, as well as a frequent simplification of this justification that focuses only on the deliberative aspect of IC, in which the emphasis on the autonomy or deliberation supposes an inadequate view of research subjects.