When a pregnant woman is knowingly causing harm to her unborn child, there are various legal interventions that can be taken to protect the rights if the fetus.
The financial generosity of the pharmaceutical industry to provide funding for medical education tempts a compromise of professional standards and ethics.
In April 2002, many pharmaceutical companies adopted PhRMA code, an attempt to self-regulate the pharmaceutical industry's marketing to physicians and other health care professionals.
Research ethics should be included in the medical school curriculum so students and residents can fully understand the ethical implications of medical research.
Medical ethicists have discussed the use of race classification in determining disease prevalence and the response of specific ethnic groups to different medications.