The Ethics of Scientific Research on Living Creatures in the Saudi System

Research Problem

There is no doubt about the importance of scientific research and its tremendous benefits for humankind. However, those benefits must be based on foundations of innocence, transparency and moral purity. As there are many researches that may be based on wasting human rights and dignity, but wasting his life without mercy or conscience and is sold and bought while he does not know for the sake of scientific research. It is here emerged the need for issuing R systems regulate scientific research principles and ethics of the researcher should not be beyond it clarified by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia targeted to reach Vision 2030, and the development of the justice sector in the rationing and regulation; so issued a system of ethics for research on living creatures issued by Royal Decree No.(59/M) dated 9/14/1431 AH, and it included solid ethics that are binding on the researcher preventing him from breaking the boundaries of religion, science, and the continuation of life.

1. What are the limits of scientific research ethics on living creatures in the Saudi system?
2. What are the procedural ethics for scientific research?
3. Does the research idea have an ethical depth?
4. What are the controls for presenting the research idea?
5. What are the ethical mechanisms for scientific research on humans?

Research Objectives

1. Explaining the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the fields of scientific research.
2. Highlighting the ethical aspects of scientific research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
3. Discussing what the Kingdom binds scientific research institutions, in particular institutions of higher education, in conducting research in general and on people in particular.

Research Importance

Scientific Importance:

1. He drew attention to the activities of the Saudi regulator in the field of scientific research.
2. Encouraging researchers in various sciences to prepare research on the ethics and rootedness of scientific research.
3. Highlighting the Kingdom’s regulations that are compatible with its vision 2030.

Practical Significance: 1. Contributing to amending some texts of the ethics systems for scientific research. 2. Encouraging the Saudi regulator to issue more regulations that ground the ethics of scientific research in various sciences by establishing a comprehensive code of ethics for scientific research.

The Ethical Dimension of the Researcher’s Personality

Science is a branch of study related to an interconnected body of classified and fixed facts that are governed by foundations and controls, and to follow documented methods and approaches to discover the truth [1]. For starters, there are many types of scientific research in the theoretical and practical vital sciences, whether it is desk research in human studies, field studies, or case studies [2]. Or on living creatures or affects the living creatures or the surrounding environment. Accordingly, here is an ethical dimension of scientific research on living creatures evidenced by a number of controls, the most important of which are:

Trust and Confidentiality

Since the goal of science is to reveal facts by scientifically explaining phenomena; Therefore, the researcher is committed to accuracy and honesty with regard to information [3], whether entered by the research in order to facilitate reference to its source or what comes out of it from the research to ensure the integrity of the research and its results. At the same time, he is committed to confidentiality of information, in particular if the search is related to the interests of the research object or the limits of intellectual property [4]. The Saudi organizer is also credited with his commitment to Sharia in the text according to what is stated under the text of Article 34 of the Law of Ethics for Research on Living Creatures that: The researcher must take into account the privacy and confidentiality of information related to those from whom the research samples were collected.”

Specialization

One of the obvious and ethical controls is also the researcher’s specialization in the subject of his research in order to accept the results of his research from him. He should also choose an idea in the level of his intellectual and scientific abilities and his scientific knowledge, as well as scientific experience in the specialty [5]; especially in biological research on living creatures, and research in marine areas, so as not to incur legal responsibility for lack of specialization by losing the conditions and the resulting damages.

According to the text of the first article of the ethics system for scientific research on living creatures, it was stated in the researcher’s definition that he must be scientifically qualified as stated by it: “The researcher: Every person qualified scientifically in the subject of him Bsea w, and holds a cycle of research ethics.” Here, we find that the Saudi regulator has cited the text with precise expressions, stipulating that he be qualified in a topic related to the research. That is, he was not satisfied that the researcher generally specialized in the field of research, but he delved into the research topic. However, on the other hand, we refer to it as stipulating the requirement to have a research ethics course; whereas, because the researcher is characterized by this quality, he must have reached it only because he studied and delved into the study of research ethics. Accordingly, we consider amending this paragraph by deleting the last part, so that it is as follows: “The researcher: every person who has a scientific qualification in a topic related to the research or in the specific specialization related to the research topic.”

The Procedural Ethics of the Research Topic

The Information: The beginning of the regular procedures that the researcher should follow is that he provides accurate information from his commitment to accuracy and also requires that it be correct [6]. It is not wrong, whatever the field of research, whether it is office research in human studies , field studies, case studies, on living creatures, or affecting living creatures or the surrounding environment, even if research in the humanities is subject in all its formal aspects to each university separately However, the procedural controls for the general research converge in that. Time Adjuster: Since the scientific method as a group of mental procedures, the research process progresses to arrive at a scientific fact that may be determined by a period of time [7]; it has a temporal importance in terms of the time frame for the research, in particular if the phenomenon or experiment under study has time limits. The Saudi regulator stressed that the time frame for approval of the research idea is also specified with regard to research on living creatures, which is stated under the text of Article Three :From the system of ethics for scientific research on living creatures as: The facility may not allow research to be conducted on the living creature except after completing the necessary procedures in accordance with this system, and the research shall be subject to periodic monitoring by the National Committee in accordance with the regulation.”

Ethical Frameworks for Research Idea

Choosing the Idea

The Saudi regulator has been interested in the ethics of scientific research from its first moments, starting with the idea of research and this calculates to him the extent of his keenness and accuracy in that. As he entrusted this task to a scientifically competent committee to study and monitor the idea and procedures for implementing it step by step. This is what emerged from the text of Article 10 of the Code of Ethics for Research on Living Creatures: Each establishment shall form a local committee of at least five members. The bylaw shall specify how it shall be formed and the provisions and rules governing its work. The committee in particular, but not exclusively has the following:

1. Ensure that the search is in accordance with the regulations followed in the Kingdom.
2. Ensure that the approval procedures are correct after the insight.
3. Agreeing to conduct the research from an ethical standpoint.
4. Periodic follow-up of the research.
5. Follow up on the health status of the person who is being researched during the experiment.
6. Coordination with the monitoring office in its field.

The Saudi regulator did not leave the committee to its personal discretion. Rather, he drew for it a way to ascertain this through control in the idea of research based on informed scientific inference and deduction [8]. It was clarified by Article Fifteen: Research must be done on humans for clear scientific goals, and be preceded by adequate laboratory experiments on animals if the nature of the research requires that, so consent to conduct research on a person is based on observing his right to a normal life and his safety from all kinds of harm, in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia [9].

It is worth noting that it is from the acumen of the Saudi regulator that he considered the simplest matters that could be the subject of scientific research, although they are not beneficial to their owner, but that they may be very important to others as a scientific research subject. Including the product of abortion, he decided to validly approve a research idea aimed at benefiting from some parts that a person has no benefit in as they are, but rather in themselves from nothing in the interest of scientific research and the benefit of human life such as aborted fetuses and other things stated under the text of Article thirty that: “It is permissible to use organs and tissues. And cells of miscarried embryos and fallen embryos that have not been breathed into the soul before reaching one hundred and twenty days in research and experiments, according to the controls and conditions set forth in the regulation [10].” It also permits the idea mentioned to be implemented on animals for the benefit of mankind, but the regulator did not leave it absolutely free, there are also controls for that so that there is no torture [11] and a not a beaten animal aiming for a researcher who may raise a sense of the local and international community together to maintain animal rights; They are all research ideas, but in a negative way, they should not be carried out [12]. Although in positive experiences there may be negative hypotheses for the results, but although he is accepted in the results, he is not accepted in the ideas; Therefore, the text of Article Thirty- Eight was mentioned: From a system of ethics research on living creatures on it:

1. The animal may be used for the purposes of scientific research by all experimental or scientific means that do not cause unusual pain to the animal on which the experiment is conducted.
2. Animal use is restricted to research that cannot achieve its goals without this use.
3. Passive use of endangered animals is prohibited.
4. The regulation defines the ethical conditions and procedures for using animals in research [13].

The Saudi regulator also alerted the scientific research ideas on the vegetation cover and banned from those negative scientific ideas that may harm the vegetation cover in the Kingdom, which some researchers may exploit to prove a certain idea without regard to the environment and the environmental balance in the Kingdom. Therefore, the ban on those ideas was mentioned according to the text of Article 39: A system of research ethics on living creatures as: The use of plants in research that harms the balance and the ecological distribution of the vegetation cover is prohibited, as well as the negative use of endangered plants is prohibited. The regulation determines the conditions for ethics and procedures for plant research and because scientific research and its ethics in the Saudi system are based on a solid foundation of Islamic law that takes into account the rights of the people, regardless of the level of human wealth and poverty, or strength or weakness; The Saudi organizer obligated the researcher to all the controls, and if the search had been in place for prisoners sentenced to murder, what was stated in Article 24: From A system of ethics for research on living creatures, stating that “Prisoners, including those sentenced to murder in terms of conducting medical research on them shall be treated as other persons. The regulation sets out the ethical controls for conducting research on prisoners [14]”.

Presenting the Idea and Implementing it: Subject presentation and honest information [15] and how to implement it to monitor the monitoring office that supervises the research committees according to the text of Article 9 of the system of research ethics on living creatures: it’s a The monitoring office shall have the following jurisdiction over:

1. Register local committees and supervise them in accordance with the provisions of this bylaw.
2. Monitoring the implementation of research ethics subject to this system through local committees.
3. Any other task assigned to him by the National Committee.
4. The bylaw determines the operating rules of this office and its work procedures.

That is, a monitoring office works to monitor the idea during its implementation in order to prevent what spoils humanity’s religious and worldly life, including reproduction. Where it was banned under the text of Article 22 of the System of Ethics for Research on Living Creatures Stating that it is forbidden to carry out research for the sake of human reproduction and based on the legal basis of the ethics of scientific research, the regulator has prohibited reproduction of the finest and smallest parts, including stem cells, according to the text of Article 28 of the Research Ethics System on living creatures That: “It is not permissible to cloned embryos to obtain embryonic stem cells, or to donate male or female sperm from sperm or eggs to produce fertilized eggs, to convert them into an embryo in order to obtain stem cells from them and conduct research on them.” It is also prohibited to save them as stated in Article 29: It is forbidden to establish banks to store male or female reproductive cells for the purpose of conducting experiments on them.” The Saudi organizer is reckoned to have drawn attention to a very important point in vital research, which is the point of the adaptive research in which the researcher aims to modify the characteristics of a living creature, resulting in an object or creature somewhat different from the common origin in the sample community. It is prohibited for the researcher to neglect him in his experiments, which may lead to the leakage of these organisms to the external environment of the community. This is what was stated under the text of Article 40, the system of research ethics on living creatures: Stating that: “When the research includes experiments to genetically alter creatures, the researcher must take the necessary measures to prevent the organisms from escaping from the laboratories in which the research is conducted to the external environment”.

Ethical Mechanisms for Carrying out Scientific Research

Satisfaction: One of the sources of scientific research from which the researcher derives his research information is the case study [16] which may fall on the human being. When implementing the research idea, some preparatory procedures may be required that may be arranged or based on wounding the sample in a specific test, or representing the crime in the case of legal studies, for example. Here, the researcher may not exploit the conditions of the person who is being researched. In any way, and not under any kind of coercion or exploitation [17] and that is in all areas of research in which the researcher needs to implement his research idea, to cooperate with sample persons for the study, or experiment, even if it is survey, field, or social case studies, consent must be made.

Satisfaction Controls: 1. One of the criteria for the consent issued by the person under study is that it is an informed consent and foresight. This is what was stated according to the text of Article 11

of The system of research ethics on living creatures states that: “It is not permissible for any researcher to initiate research on any human before obtaining from him or his guardian the consent after enlightening in accordance with the procedures specified by the regulations[18]”. 2. The Twelfth Article explained From the system of research ethics on living creatures that: “When obtaining consent after envisioning, the researcher must explain in an understandable manner to the person on whom the research is being conducted or to his guardian, all possible results, including the unfavorable results resulting from the revocation of consent after the envisioning if any 3. Authentication of consent; Where it was stated under the text of Article 13 From the system of research ethics on living creatures that. 4. The consent shall be documented after the enunciation according to the conditions and procedures specified by the regulations.

Exception from Consent: The local committee may agree to conduct the research without obtaining approval after the foresight, if it is not possible to link the information that the researcher will obtain from the vital (pathological) records or samples with the person who was the source of it, or if the results related to individuals are available to the public [19, 20].