Body matters : Rethinking the ethical acceptability of non-beneficial clinical research with children

The involvement of children in non-beneficial clinical research is extremelyimportant for improving pediatric care, but its ethical acceptability is stilldisputed. Therefore, various pro-research justifications have been proposedthroughout the years. The present essay aims at contributing to the on-goingdiscussion surrounding children’s participation in non-beneficialclinical research. Building on Wendler’s ‘contribution to a valuable project’justification, but going beyond a risk/benefit analysis, it articulates apro-research argument which appeals to a phenomenological view on thebody and vulnerability. It is claimed that children’s bodies are not merephysical objects, but body-subjects due to which children, as persons, cancontribute to research that may hold no direct clinical benefit to them evenbefore they can give informed consent.