Belmont Report

The Belmont Report is a report created by the former United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (which was renamed to Health and Human Services) entitled "Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research" and is an important historical document in the field of medical ethics. The report was created on April 181979 and gets its name from the Belmont Conference Center where the document was drafted. The conference center, once a part of the Smithsonian Institution, is in Elkridge, Maryland, 10 miles south of Baltimore, and is now operated by Howard Community College.

History
Based on the work of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (1974-1978), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revised and expanded its regulations for the protection of human subjects 45 CFR part 46 in the late 1970's and early 1980's. In 1978, the Commission’s report “Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research” was published. It was named the Belmont Report, for the Belmont Conference Center, where the National Commission met when first drafting the report.

The Belmont Report explains the unifying ethical principles that form the basis for the National Commission’s topic-specific reports and the regulations that incorporate its recommendations. The three fundamental ethical principles for all human subject are(1)respect for persons: protecting the autonomy of all people and treating them with courtesy and respect; (2)beneficence: maximizing good outcomes for humanity and research subject, while minimizing or avoiding risks or harm; and (3)justice: ensuring reasonable, non-exploitative, and well-considered procedures are administered fairly (the fair distribution of costs and benefits. Those principles remain the basis for the HHS human subject protection regulations. )

Modern Ethics Violations

One special case is the life story of Jesse Gelsinger which can be read at this web link:

In 1991, 14 other Federal departments and agencies joined HHS in adopting a uniform set of rules for the protection of human subjects, identical to subpart A of 45 CFR part 46 of the HHS regulations. This uniform set of regulations is the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, informally known as the “Common Rule.”

Today, the Belmont Report continues as an essential reference for institutional review boards (IRBs) that review HHS-conducted or -supported human subjects research proposals involving human subjects, in order to ensure that the research meets the ethical foundations of the regulations.