Question of Consent

In class, the question of what constitutes exploitation was raised; in particular in regards to the issue of exploiting psychological states of the downtrodden.  Even with medical studies, I do not feel that the poor or prisoners should be excluded from being able to consent because of their situation. To claim that a poor person is not consenting to an experiment because they need the money seems cruel. They need the money, and as long as they are aware of the risks they should be allowed to participate and earn that money.  In the case of prisoners, as was discussed in class, although they may be more willing to participate in studies because they feel as if they owe society a debt, the truth of the matter is they do owe society a debt. I do not feel that they should participate without being aware of the consequences, but as long as they know what they are signing up for, I feel that they are giving valid consent. In both these cases the participants can be said to be vulnerable or desperate, but as long as they are adults, I feel it is worse to deny them the ability to consent than to let them participate in studies. This consent/participation, however, rests on the assumption that they have full disclosure and without such disclosure, no matter who the participant is, there is not an instance of valid consent