The Declaration of Helsinki Through a Feminist Lens

This commentary was submitted to the World Medical Association on behalf of the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics. Our submission included (1) a description of feminist research ethics, (2) suggestions for specific revisions to the Declaration, and (3) elements found in other international research ethics codes that are important from a feminist perspective. Our goals were to encourage the WMA to craft a declaration that: (1) conceptualizes issues of vulnerability in richer and more nuanced ways, (2) resists the influence of profit motives, and (3) extends the scope of responsibility for ethical research more broadly.¹