Informed consent remains one of the most controversial and challenging issues in medicine, research, bioethics, and society. Many of our readers have been studying the topic for years, and JLME has published multiple symposiums and scores of articles on many of the profoundly important questions surrounding consent. It is an issue that has historical, societal, ethical, legal, and scientific roots, and importantly, continues to uncover deeply personal values and beliefs. Informed consent is thus at the intersection of scientific progress and humanity.
In this issue of JLME, guest editors Michele Goodwin and Harriet Washington and their co-authors give the topic of informed consent proper examination in our featured symposium, “Contemporary Challenges in Informed Consent: Law, Research Practice, and Ethics.” The symposium begins by discussing past research trials, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and how Tuskegee and other early cases have shaped our current understanding of informed consent. It then explores how informed consent affects and is involved in current issues, such as stem cell therapy and research, vaccination policies, newborn screening, employer-based wellness programs, and access to health care for minorities and other disadvantaged groups of people — to name just a few examples. As research and law evolve, our authors hope informed consent policies will evolve alongside them to better protect research subjects and citizens alike.
Also in this issue of JLME are our independent articles covering institutional practices on exempt research, school sports concussion laws in Massachusetts, language access in ACO initiatives, and genetic test results for children with unexplained fractures. As a whole both the symposium and independent articles demonstrate one of the core tenets of ASLME and its readers and members: that there are vulnerable members of our society, and these members deserve no less protection than anyone else. Whether these individuals need greater access to language tools or better protections from medical research, our journal's mission is to use multidisciplinary tools in order to explore better ways to serve and protect all members of our society. The work is done, on the ground, by our writers and editors, and it is our pleasure to be merely a small part in this effort to bring this work to the attention of the world.
