Racing for Consent: A Feminist Relational Analysis of Informed Consent for Nondiagnostic Breast Cancer Research Biopsies

Traditional models of analysis of informed consent are often used to analyze ethical consent. However, these models ignore sociocultural factors that may affect the patients’ willingness to consent. This paper uses the case of nondiagnostic tumor biopsies obtained for research to show how the culture surrounding a disease could influence the consent process. I examine how the mainstream breast cancer movement’s rhetoric may affect breast cancer patients’ willingness to engage in clinical research that does not provide a direct benefit. Ultimately, I argue that a sociological feminist consent approach should be used in evaluating informed consent.