1 Assistant Director, Health Law Center, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Although I could write at great length to express all my criticisms of Dr. Silverman's proposal to permit a "physician-friend" of a minor child to be substituted for the child's parent as the person who could authorize the child's participation in the research study which offers the child no immediate benefit, I will endeavor to be brief.
First, are there any scientifically-derived data to show that attempts to obtain consent from parents of minor children for participation in studies have been rebuffed on such a scale that the requirement for consent has interfered with the proper conduct of one study?