Department of Theology
Library of the School of Theology

2020-01-23

2020

Hadjimichael Christos

Κωνσταντίνος Κορναράκης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Θεολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Απόστολος Νικολαϊδης, Κοσμήτορας, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Κοινωνικής Θεολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Βασίλειος Φανάρας, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Κοινωνικής Θεολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Αρχιμ. π. Γρηγόριος Παπαθωμάς, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Θεολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Κωνσταντίνος Μπελέζος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Θεολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Ζωγράφος, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ιατρικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Ευάγγελος Πρωτοπαπαδάκης, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Φιλοσοφίας, Παιδαγωγικής και Ψυχολογίας, Τομέας Φιλοσοφίας, ΕΚΠΑ

Θεολογική και Ηθική Θεώρηση των Κλινικών Δοκιμών

Greek

Theological and Ethical Consideration of Clinical Trials

Clinical trials have a long history and an integral part of human life. The main objective of this project was to investigate the moral and theological dimension of clinical trials.
The necessary definitions related to the clinical trials, the types and the way they were performed, as well as the necessary historical review and the significance and value of the clinical trials were recorded. The regulatory framework for clinical trials, including their legislative regulation, the role of Bioethics Committees and the involvement of Biopolitics as well as other sciences in the conduct of clinical trials, was covered in detail. Clinical trials were also approached religiously, emphasizing the numerically larger religions and the main Christian dogmas (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism). Special reference was made to the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the clinical trials at decision-making level, action level, etc. which fall within the broader contextual relationship of the Orthodox Church with modern bioethical concerns and bioethics in general. The systematic anthropological and theological view of clinical trials was also attempted. The ethical consideration of clinical trials involves the individual negotiation of the four main players involved therein: the pharmaceutical industry, the drug regulatory authorities, the participants (as patients or healthy volunteers) and the medical community. Consequently, Medicine was commented on as a pastoral art which includes the development of medical and pharmaceutical knowledge as products of the Providence of God in the course of man towards holiness and the non-exclusionary and non-discriminatory equal access of people to the health system (as a consequence of the charismatic nature of Medicine). The physician-patient relationship in the light of moral theology is another part of the project that focuses on the patient's autonomy and informed consent with regard to clinical trials. The medical responsibility towards the patient was discussed in accordance with the theological thinking of the Church as well as the patient's autonomy through the prism of theological anthropology, emphasizing the respect of the person’s right to liberty and the choice of the self-sacrifice in the context of clinical trials. The soteriological nature of testing in clinical practice and spiritual life constitutes the culmination of the approach of clinical trials from the point of view of moral theology. It covers the concept of the test in the Bible, the taking of medication in patristic thought as well as relevant cases based on testimonies from texts describing the lives of saints (Sinaxaria).
Since the postlapsarian man suffers from wear and tear, he will have a need for healing until the culmination of the ages. He will be striving to restore health, to give continuation to life, to relieve unbearable pain, to prevent unpleasant health developments. Clinical trials constitute a key element of this struggle. The Orthodox Church has yet to assume an official position on clinical trials. This might be due to: (a) the general and global acceptance of clinical trials as a necessary element for establishing the safety and efficacy of a medicinal product; (b) the urgent need to prevent unpleasant situations, since at present the competent authorities have indeed created a strong regulatory framework for clinical trials that seems to ensure a satisfactory level of respect for human life; (c) the formulation of key and general Orthodox bioethical principles that also broadly cover the bioethical issues of clinical trials.
The contribution of this dissertation could be summarized as follows: a) It dissertated for the first time, as far as we know within the Greek sphere, on the subject of clinical trials in the perspective of the moral and theological view; b) It presented the main data in detail (medical, historical, legislative-regulatory, religiological, bioethical, ethical and theological) relating to clinical trials; c) it confirmed the application of the use of the general bioethical principles of Orthodox Theology in the approach of clinical trials; d) laid the foundation for further deepening and engagement on the subject; e) mentioned points that merit attention by relevant bodies and committees in the bioethical, and beyond, evaluation of clinical tests; f) contributed to the multidisciplinary approach of a bioethical matter such as clinical tests, confirming the dialectical relationship between Orthodox Theology and healthcare sciences; g) negotiated a matter with various extensions, as is for example the relevant information of the patients and the relevant information of the Orthodox mission operating in countries where clinical trials are conducted on economically vulnerable populations.

Religion

Theology, Bioethics, Ethics, Clinical Trials

No

0

Yes

425

322

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https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/2895769