title: Science wars-How much risk should soldiers be exposed to in military experimentation?
abstract: With the threat of biological war becoming a more and more distinct possibility, there is a growing need for vaccines and cures for diseases. As warfare moves from the battlefield to the laboratory, the military must adapt its tactics in order to preserve national security. At the moment, soldiers consent to the risk associated with combat, but with the changing nature of war, the need may arise for soldiers to put themselves at risk not only through combat, but also through scientific experimentation, in order to produce vaccines or cures and ultimately maintain national security. By allowing soldiers to trade risk on the battlefield with risk in the laboratory, deeper research can be made into diseases and biological agents, and this would therefore lessen the threat of biological war or terrorism.
authors: Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors: Julian
authors: J
authors: Savulescu
keywords: Genomics; bioethics; coercion and consent; genetic testing; military ethics