Ethicist: In general it is wrong to use medical treatments and procedures of an experimental nature without the patient's consent, because the patient has a right to reject or accept a treatment on the basis of full information about all the available options. But knowledge of the best treatment for emergency conditions can be gained only if consent to experimental practices is sometimes bypassed in medical emergencies. So some restricted nonconsensual medical research should be allowed.
Question: Which one of the following is an assumption required by the ethicist's argument?
Options:
A. Doctors often do not know what is best for their own patients in emergency situations.
B. If patients knew that experimental treatments were being used in medical emergencies, it could adversely affect the outcome of that research.
C. Nonconsensual medical research should be allowed only if the research is highly likely to yield results that will benefit the patient.
D. In cases where the best treatment option is unknown, a patient ceases to have the right to know the treatment plan and the alternatives.
E. The right of patients to informed consent is outweighed in at least some medical emergencies by the possible benefits of research conducted without their consent.
Answer: E