T e main purpose of drawing up the Nuremburg Code in 1945 was to clarify what could be allowed when conducting experiments on humans. T e need for voluntary consent by subjects to any procedures carried out on them was central to the code. In this, it provided a starting point for today’s legal and ethical standards. However, it applied to consent only in relation to experiments and did not cover the doctor–patient relationship more generally. T e Declaration of Helsinki in 1964 extended the need for consent to all aspects of the doctor–patient relationship. It made clear that participation in any procedures must be informed as well as voluntary. T e implications for medicine were very signifi cant: informed consent must be obtained from all patients. T is principle provides the basis for current medico-legal ethics.
Closure
Tell students to review and list the main topics and arguments presented in this lesson. T en ask them to try to summarize the viewpoints using some of the language they have practised.
T ey could also give a two- or three-sentence summary of anything they have read, e.g., I read a useful article on X by Y. It said that …
Ask students to do some research and fi nd useful or interesting books, articles or websites on the topics in this lesson. T ey should draw up a list, including correct referencing, and share their sources with other students.
