The Radiologist Peered into his ultrasound scanner and beamed. "Congratulations, "he announced. "It's a girl." Rajendra Jain could feel his heart sink. Two daughters already and now another on the way. He glanced furtively

Recent publicity about unethical trials raises a number of questions about research in developing countries.

Persons testing positive for infection by HIV or showing evidence of AIDS provoke revulsion and fear in medical doctors. These reactions stem from the general knowledge that the diagnosis of AIDS is akin to a death sentence and the belief that a positive HIV test is, inevitably.

In a vast, multi-ethnic, multi-religious country like India, it is to be expected that we have several world-views operating at the same time in people's search for health and healing.

Doctors in India are questioning the ethics of a study which observed the natural course of precancerous uterine cervical lesions without treatment in women who had not given written consent to take part.

There is a widespread feeling that there has been a general erosion of ethical standards even in professions, which have been considered 'noble'. This has prompted a soul-searching exercise to understand the problems involved.

Modern medical practice is by its very nature an interventionist one and in principle, all medical interventions need the informed consent of the patient to be ethically correct.

Cancer of the cervix is the most prevalent form of cancer in developing countries, and accounts for 25 to 50 per cent of all cancers occurring in Indian women.

Ethics is an important yet neglected issue in the field of medicine. When discussed, it provokes controversy. In the West we find conscious and continuous debate on this subject. Ethics is not a forbidden word there nor are