PrepTest 93+, Section 2, Question 25
Columnist: Consent forms filled out by subjects prior to their participation in tests of experimental medicines designed to treat the diseases from which they are suffering show that almost all subjects accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances. This casts doubt on the claim made by some medical ethicists that many test subjects resent being given placebos (as happens to roughly half of all test subjects) or resent being given medicines that turn out to be ineffective (as also often occurs).
Columnist: Consent forms filled out by subjects prior to their participation in tests of experimental medicines designed to treat the diseases from which they are suffering show that almost all subjects accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances. This casts doubt on the claim made by some medical ethicists that many test subjects resent being given placebos (as happens to roughly half of all test subjects) or resent being given medicines that turn out to be ineffective (as also often occurs).
Columnist: Consent forms filled out by subjects prior to their participation in tests of experimental medicines designed to treat the diseases from which they are suffering show that almost all subjects accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances. This casts doubt on the claim made by some medical ethicists that many test subjects resent being given placebos (as happens to roughly half of all test subjects) or resent being given medicines that turn out to be ineffective (as also often occurs).
Columnist: Consent forms filled out by subjects prior to their participation in tests of experimental medicines designed to treat the diseases from which they are suffering show that almost all subjects accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances. This casts doubt on the claim made by some medical ethicists that many test subjects resent being given placebos (as happens to roughly half of all test subjects) or resent being given medicines that turn out to be ineffective (as also often occurs).
The reasoning in the columnist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument
infers that two phenomena are associated merely from the claim that there are many instances in which both phenomena are present
uses as evidence the opinions of people who are unlikely to be qualified to make informed judgments about the scientific value of placebos
uses evidence drawn from a sample that is likely to be unrepresentative
takes for granted that most test subjects do not change their attitudes toward the chance of taking ineffective substances once the substances they take turn out to be ineffective
draws a conclusion that is essentially about a moral issue by appealing to evidence that is purely factual
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