The American Medical Association published an article on the ‘ethics’ of requiring everyone to participate in vaccine trials and unless they sign an opt-out form, they would be considered to have given their tacit consent to being a guinea pig and allowing their children to also be guinea pigs.
What is society coming to when anyone in their right mind can think this is a good and ethical idea?
If progression of promising vaccines from the lab to the clinic is to remain unaffected and financial inducement is an ethically unacceptable solution to the recruitment shortage, other strategies need to be considered. Compulsory involvement in vaccine studies is one alternative solution that is not as outlandish as it might seem on first consideration. Many societies already mandate that citizens undertake activities for the good of society; in several European countries registration for organ-donation has switched from “opt-in” (the current U.S. system) to “opt out” systems (in which those who do not specifically register as non-donors are presumed to consent to donation, and most societies expect citizens to undertake jury service when called upon.
