Is It Acceptable for Police to Seize Your Biomedical Samples?
Let’s assume you’ve acquired a grant to begin a research study to investigate the spread of a certain disease in a population. So you gather your samples, do your research and publish your findings. Then out of nowhere, law enforcement shows up with a court order to obtain a sample from your collection that will help in the legal prosecution of one of the participants of your study. As a researcher, would you find it unethical for the police to take your research samples without the participants’ consent or knowledge? In an essay authored by Nina de Groot and her…