The Belmont Report

Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research

The Belmont Report was written by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. The Commission, created as a result of the National Research Act of 1974, was charged with identifying the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects and developing guidelines to assure that such research is conducted in accordance with those principles. Informed by monthly discussions that spanned nearly four years and an intensive four days of deliberation in 1976, the Commission published the Belmont Report, which identifies basic ethical principles and guidelines that address ethical issues arising from the conduct of research with human subjects.

The Belmont Report

Read the Belmont Report

• Read the full text in English
• Read the full text in Spanish

A Video about the Belmont Report

This video describes the basic ethical principles that underlie research involving human subjects and demonstrates how they can help resolve ethical conflicts in research

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25th Anniversary Interviews

This collection of videos includes interviews with members and staff of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research from the 25th anniversary of publication in 2004

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Other Reports by the National Commission

Explore a compilation of related reports published by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research between 1974 and 1978

Read the reports