Scientists and the Public in East Asian Life Assemblages: Risk, Debate and the Professionalisation of Bioethics

Abstract

Human embryonic stem cell research (hESR) has been controversial in many societies owing partly to the existence of diverging views on the normative value of the embryo, and on the ethical derivation and use of embryos and oocytes required for research. This kind of controversy has been, and still is, expressed in the form of protest movements and organisations that aim to deal with the perceived risks of hESR. In the UK, the Warnock Report, which reacted to the particular problems associated with embryo research, recommended the establishment of the license authority, which materialised in the shape of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in 1990. This included an attempt to measure the public barometer to attain publicly acceptable regulation (Franklin and Roberts, 2006: 3–5). The HFEA devised bioethical guidelines that would regulate the sourcing of biomaterials and the behaviour of stem cell scientists, while taking into consideration shifts in views among the public. Such bioethical regulation is also important to funding agencies, such as the Wellcome Trust and the European Framework Programmes, who wish to protect their reputation and do not wish to subsidise research that is regarded as bioethically irresponsible.