Ethical Issues That Arise In Jenner’s Vaccination Against Smallpox
Ethical Issues That Arise In Jenner’s Vaccination Against Smallpox
In Edward Jenner’s Vaccination Against Smallpox, the way Jenner experiments on the people in his village questions whether or not his actions were ethical. Jenner’s work on the people in his community addresses many health risks due to the smallpox disease, his work may have had both purpose and justification, but the way Jenner carried out his experiments were very dangerous and harmful to his community. Jenner put many people’s lives in jeopardy including men, women and even young innocent children. If the Nuremburg Code was established prior to Jenner’s time, Jenner’s work might have been rejected. Jenner’s work may have been rejected because in his writing and in his case studies, Jenner struggles with the moral implications of developing a vaccine. In order to develop the smallpox vaccine, Jenner had to inject both the cowpox and the smallpox disease in these humans. With developing the smallpox vaccine, Jenner undoubtedly posed ethical problems. Jenner never mentioned in his inquiry whether or not he got verbal or written consent from the people he inoculated with both diseases, Jenner uses majority of young children as his subjects, and lastly, Jenner never inoculated himself. These are all examples of Jenner’s unethical actions.
Jenner knew nothing about cowpox or smallpox before carrying out his experiments. Jenner was practically learning about the smallpox disease like everyone else in his community. Jenner did no prior research before beginning his cases, where he injected people with the cowpox and the smallpox disease. While studying his observations during his experiments, Jenner believe that “those who had suffered from cowpox, a disease common in the rural parts of western England in the late eighteenth century, were immune to subsequent attacks of smallpox” (Jenner, 7). This belief led Jenner to develop the smallpox vaccine in the manner which he did. Jenner was inoculating
In Edward Jenner’s Vaccination Against Smallpox, the way Jenner experiments on the people in his village questions whether or not his actions were ethical. Jenner’s work on the people in his community addresses many health risks due to the smallpox disease, his work may have had both purpose and justification, but the way Jenner carried out his experiments were very dangerous and harmful to his community. Jenner put many people’s lives in jeopardy including men, women and even young innocent children. If the Nuremburg Code was established prior to Jenner’s time, Jenner’s work might have been rejected. Jenner’s work may have been rejected because in his writing and in his case studies, Jenner struggles with the moral implications of developing a vaccine. In order to develop the smallpox vaccine, Jenner had to inject both the cowpox and the smallpox disease in these humans. With developing the smallpox vaccine, Jenner undoubtedly posed ethical problems. Jenner never mentioned in his inquiry whether or not he got verbal or written consent from the people he inoculated with both diseases, Jenner uses majority of young children as his subjects, and lastly, Jenner never inoculated himself. These are all examples of Jenner’s unethical actions.
Jenner knew nothing about cowpox or smallpox before carrying out his experiments. Jenner was practically learning about the smallpox disease like everyone else in his community. Jenner did no prior research before beginning his cases, where he injected people with the cowpox and the smallpox disease. While studying his observations during his experiments, Jenner believe that “those who had suffered from cowpox, a disease common in the rural parts of western England in the late eighteenth century, were immune to subsequent attacks of smallpox” (Jenner, 7). This belief led Jenner to develop the smallpox vaccine in the manner which he did. Jenner was inoculating