Since the publication of Belmont, these three principles have greatly influenced discussions of research with human subjects. While they are often regarded as the single-most influential set of guidelines for biomedical research and practice in the United States (and other parts of the world), not everyone agrees that they provide adequate guidance. Belmont Revisited brings together a stellar group of scholars in bioethics to revisit the findings of that original report. Their responses constitute a broad overview of the development of the Belmont Report and the extent of its influence, especially on governmental commissions, as well as an assessment of its virtues and shortcomings.
Belmont Revisited looks back to reexamine the creation and influence of the Belmont Report, and also looks forward to the future of research—with a strong call to rethink how institutions and investigators can conduct research more ethically.
James F. Childress is the John Allen Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics at the University of Virginia.
Eric M. Meslin is director of the Indiana University Center for Bioethics.
Harold T. Shapiro is president emeritus, Princeton University and a professor of economics and public affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.