Topic: The Ethics of Experimental Treatments
Country: New Zealand
Delegate Name: Nolan Underwood
School: Vicksburg High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All New Zealand position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
Regarding the ethics of experimental treatments, the delegation of New Zealand believes that experimental treatment can be beneficial for the advancement of medical sciences as long as it is regulated by federal committees. While New Zealand is not actively researching and experimenting, we support and appreciate those countries that are advancing medical intelligence. Experimental treatment can be beneficial as a whole, by allowing doctors and scientists to discover new information on diseases such as cancer and HIV. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in New Zealand, and is a health issue we need to address. The only way to make advances medically is to try new things as our database of diseases increases along with our knowledge of successful methods for cures. Experimental treatment is saving thousands of other lives and has advanced our medical knowledge greatly.
Federal committees should have the right to regulate and oversee treatments and judge whether or not certain experimental treatments become unethical. An important thing we need to consider is when these treatments become more detrimental to the patient than the actual illness itself, which should be decided by the previously mentioned committees. Our long term goal will be to help and cure, not to endure pain and suffering. We also do not want to make matters worse or irreversible for the patients themselves.
There are many countries that lead the way in medical advancements, and it is our responsibility as the United Nations to ensure that these experiments are being done ethically throughout the planet. We also need to insure that countries are not risking the lives of their patients for treatments that have not been fully researched, and that they are informing the patients of the risks involved. The United Nations needs to hold these countries accountable and protect their citizens. Lastly, once these procedures and treatments are researched, proven useful and approved, we need regulations that are followed in administering treatments.
