hiv ethics

Ethics panels may be hindering HIV prevention efforts

Ethics panels may be hindering HIV prevention efforts by requiring gay and bisexual adolescents to get parental consent before taking part in research, experts suggest.

Fear over coming out as gay or bisexual may prevent young men from asking their parents for permission to participate in HIV prevention studies. But leaving them out of such studies would likely result in huge gaps in scientific knowledge.

"Without the science, we won’t have service," said Brian Mustanski, of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University in Chicago. "Without the service we’re going to continue . . .