Imagine you have an incurable disease — maybe Alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis. Though you might be willing to take a chance on science, you would nonetheless face a difficult decision in choosing whether to volunteer for a clinical trial. While you could potentially receive a better treatment, it’s equally likely that you would instead receive a placebo as part of the control arm of the study, used to verify the efficacy of the experimental drug. Despite bravely seeking to improve your life, you might end up as just a baseline comparator. That system doesn’t seem right.
