RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The remote prayer delusion: clinical trials that attempt to detect supernatural intervention are as futile as they are unethical JF Journal of Medical Ethics JO J Med Ethics FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics SP e18 OP e18 DO 10.1136/jme.2007.023432 VO 34 IS 9 A1 Paul, G YR 2008 UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/34/9/e18.abstract AB Extreme rates of premature death prior to the advent of modern medicine, very low rates of premature death in First World nations with low rates of prayer, and the least flawed of a large series of clinical trials indicate that remote prayer is not efficacious in treating illness. Mass contamination of sample cohorts renders such clinical studies inherently ineffectual. The required supernatural and paranormal mechanisms render them implausible. The possibility that the latter are not benign, and the potentially adverse psychological impact of certain protocols, renders these medical trials unethical. Resources should no longer be wasted on medical efforts to detect the supernatural and paranormal.