The safety, rights, and privacy of clinical trial participants are protected by local, federal, and international laws, and oversight committees routinely monitor clinical trials to ensure protection of participants’ rights. Before people agree to participate in a clinical trial, researchers are required to provide detailed information about the clinical trial’s purpose, procedures, and possible risks and benefits of participation. This is known as informed consent. Researchers will also inform participants of new benefits, risks, or side effects found during the course of the clinical trial.  Because participation in clinical trials is entirely voluntary, participants can choose to stop participating at any time, for any reason. For more details, see the Informed Consent for Clinical Trials page from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).