Biomedical research is a great good in our society, often offering life extension and improved quality of life. However, the means to making available new drugs and techniques is clinical research, which has the concomitant challenge of placing research participants at risk. Thus, a conflict emerges between the good of society and the well-being of research subjects. The aim of this paper is to look at the current situation of clinical research in the U.S. and in global settings and to seek ethical direction amidst this tension. After a review of events and regulations that have resulted in the current state of clinical trials, the paper identifies two particularly vulnerable populations: participants of Phase I testing in the United States and drug trial participants in low and middle income countries. What emerges from this study is a certain ambiguity due to the combination of benefits and risks for participants. To develop an ethical response to this complex situation, the paper then turns to a Christological analysis focusing especially on God’s action in the hypostatic union and atonement. God as human entered into solidarity with humanity in the cross and God as divine surrendered his power for the sake of the other. While Christ’s work represents a unique soteriological event, a fitting response to God’s action toward us in Christ is to enter into solidarity with fellow humans through a surrender of our power and privilege in proportion to the position and influence one possesses. The paper will conclude with implications for the multifaceted domain of clinical research, including a moral responsibility to participate in clinical research for those in relative positions of power.