title: The moral primacy of the human being: a reply to Parker.
abstract: In a previous paper in the Journal of Medical Ethics, the authors argued that the research ethical principle stating that the individual shall have priority over science, found in many guidelines, is utterly unclear and because of this should be explicated or otherwise deleted. In a recent commentary, Parker argued that this leaves us defending a position that would allow totalitarian regimes to pursue glory at the expense of its citizens. The present response addresses this and similar accusations.
authors.affiliation: Stockholm Centre for Healthcare Ethics (CHE), Department of Learning, Informatics, Management, and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. gert.helgesson@ki.se
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Helgesson
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eriksson
mesh_terms: D016265:Conflict of Interest; D006801:Humans; D028681:Moral Obligations; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D035842:Research Subjects / Q000523:psychology; D012586:Science / Q000941:ethics*; D036302:Therapeutic Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics*