Reason: Basis for Universal Ethics - Kant

Derrick, you do a superb job of applying Kant to these case studies.  First, you observe, Kant's ethics are universal.  They apply to all equally, researcher and subject of the research.  This is because each has the capacity to reason, and this creates a universal foundation for ethics.  Each human has the rational capacity to think for himself or herself; not to respect this commonality is to engage in unethical behavior.  This does not mean we must accept every decision others make as ethical; it does mean we need to respect as much as is reasonably possible their autonomy as individual humans with rational capacity as individual humans.  To ignore this university human reality, as you point out, is unethical.  Exactly.