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In 1972 people with horrific treatable diseases were being lied to, so that science could record exactly how they suffered and died:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study

And that's what led to ethics rules that said you can't do that. You'd think you wouldn't need to write it down, but we did and we do.

> By then, 28 patients had died directly from syphilis, 100 died from complications related to syphilis, 40 of the patients' wives were infected with syphilis, and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis.[15]

> The 40-year Tuskegee Study was a major violation of ethical standards,[13] and has been cited as "arguably the most infamous biomedical research study in U.S. history."[16] Its revelation led to the 1979 Belmont Report and to the establishment of the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)[17] and federal laws and regulations requiring institutional review boards for the protection of human subjects in studies.



I know about Tuskegee. That's a clear example of what not to do. Just one of many documented cases of criminal abuse of human beings. Stuff like this is the reason why informed consent is an absolute requirement these days.

What I meant to say is I'd think twice before telling a depressed patient with a history of suicide attempts about a diagnosis of terminal illness.


Assisted suicide could be a completely rational choice, at that point [1]. It would be a choice that you, or anyone else, could not dictate.

1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/792317/medical-condition...




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