Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§980 Limitation on use of humans as experimental subjects

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 49— - MISCELLANEOUS PROHIBITIONS AND PENALTIES › § 980

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

DoD money cannot be used for research that treats a person as an experimental subject unless the person gives informed consent in advance. If the research is meant to help the person, consent may be given in advance by the person or by a legal representative. The Secretary of Defense may waive this ban for a specific project to develop a medical product needed by the armed forces if the project may directly benefit the subject and follows other laws. The Secretary may give that waiver power to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §980

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Funds appropriated to the Department of Defense may not be used for research involving a human being as an experimental subject unless—
(1)the informed consent of the subject is obtained in advance; or
(2)in the case of research intended to be beneficial to the subject, the informed consent of the subject or a legal representative of the subject is obtained in advance.
(b)(1)The Secretary of Defense may waive the prohibition in this section with respect to a specific research project to advance the development of a medical product necessary to the armed forces if the research project may directly benefit the subject and is carried out in accordance with all other applicable laws.
(2)The Secretary may delegate the authority provided by paragraph (1) to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in the following appropriation acts: Pub. L. 98–473, title I, § 101(h) [title VIII, § 8029], Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 1904, 1929. Pub. L. 98–212, title VII, § 734, Dec. 8, 1983, 97 Stat. 1444. Pub. L. 97–377, title I, § 101(c) [title VII, § 737], Dec. 21, 1982, 96 Stat. 1833, 1857. Pub. L. 97–114, title VII, § 738, Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1585. Pub. L. 96–527, title VII, § 739, Dec. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 3088. Pub. L. 96–154, title VII, § 741, Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1159. Pub. L. 95–457, title VIII, § 841, Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1251. Pub. L. 95–111, title VIII, § 840, Sept. 21, 1977, 91 Stat. 906. Pub. L. 94–419, title VII, § 739, Sept. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 1297. Pub. L. 94–212, title VII, § 740, Feb. 9, 1976, 90 Stat. 175. Pub. L. 93–437, title VIII, § 841, Oct. 8, 1974, 88 Stat. 1231. Pub. L. 93–238, title VII, § 743, Jan. 2, 1974, 87 Stat. 1045. Pub. L. 92–570, title VII, § 745, Oct. 26, 1972, 86 Stat. 1203.

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 118–31 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). 2001—Pub. L. 107–107 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1985, see section 1404 of Pub. L. 98–525, set out as a note under section 520b of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 980

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73