I think the procedure was ethical because it benefited both Charlie and Dr. Nemur. Charlie got smarter everyday until the point where he's the smartest person. And for Dr. Nemur, he would get a lot of money, fame and prizes for what he did.although Charlie's sister didn't know Charlie was alive she was aware of his condition and probably knew what would happen if he stayed. I think they proceeded to work on Charlie because a human brain compared to a mouses brain is structurally different and much bigger. The doctors probably thought that the bigger the brain the longer the subject would still live.
