Informed Consent? or What's Wrong With This Picture? Part 2007

Here we are 135 years later after the painting of "American Progress." Today, in the New York Times we get word again that Indigenous people are being used as experimental objects by Western Science. Take a look at this article by clicking on the title of this post. The last sentences in the article should give you chills, that is, if you haven't already had them throughout reading:

“None of these samples have been used in an unethical manner,” Dr. Salzano added. As for the question of informed consent, he added, “That is always relative.”

Okay, does Dr. Salzano mean who your relatives are makes a difference in informed consent? As in, I have relatives that I could call to come get you? Or, does he mean, consent is relative to how human you are judged to be by him? Anyone out there know how informed consent can be relative?

For another perspective, how about this from the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism:

Bad Science
Bad science is scientific research that harms people against their will.
It imposes itself on the subjects; it operates against the notion of consent.
It may be based on coerced consent, failing to reveal relevant information to secure consent.
Research where the subjects do not stand to benefit.
Tribes can and must take control of any research activity that takes place within their territories and affects their people.

http://www.ipcb.org/publications/primers/htmls/ipgg.html

Now, let's not get all high-minded about how this only happens in Brazil. Brazil actually makes the new regional sized jets that JetBlue is purchasing every other day to expand its fleet. So, let's not get into this Brazil is backward and Third World mode. The Genographic Project planned to collect blood from Alaska Natives. And, believe it or not, it was National Geographic on board to document it. Education, Technology, Knowledge. Let's deconstruct the painting "American Progress" again, shall we? This time we need to add the word, Bio-Piracy.