Embryo Politics , livre ebook

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2011

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305

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2011

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Since the first fertilization of a human egg in the laboratory in 1968, scientific and technological breakthroughs have raised ethical dilemmas and generated policy controversies on both sides of the Atlantic. Embryo, stem cell, and cloning research have provoked impassioned political debate about their religious, moral, legal, and practical implications. National governments make rules that govern the creation, destruction, and use of embryos in the laboratory-but they do so in profoundly different ways.In Embryo Politics, Thomas Banchoff provides a comprehensive overview of political struggles aboutembryo research during four decades in four countries-the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Banchoff's book, the first of its kind, demonstrates the impact of particular national histories and institutions on very different patterns of national governance. Over time, he argues, partisan debate and religious-secular polarization have come to overshadow ethical reflection and political deliberation on the moral status of the embryo and the promise of biomedical research. Only by recovering a robust and public ethical debate will we be able to govern revolutionary life-science technologies effectively and responsibly into the future.
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Date de parution

15 mai 2011

Nombre de lectures

0

EAN13

9780801460593

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

EMBRYO POLITICS
EMBRYO POLITICS E T HI CS AND POL I CY n I N AT L ANT I C DE MOCRACI ES
Th o m a s B a n c h o f f
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2011 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2011 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data
Banchoff, Thomas F., 1964– Embryo politics : ethics and policy in Atlantic democracies / Thomas Banchoff.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801449574 (cloth : alk. paper)  1. Human embryo—Research—Moral and ethical aspects—United States. 2. Human embryo—Research— Moral and ethical aspects—Europe. 3. Human embryo— Research—Political aspects—United States. 4. Human embryo—Research—Political aspects—Europe. I. Title.  QM608.B36 2011  174.2'8—dc22 2010052639
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
Cloth printing
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Co nt e nt s
Prefacevii
Introduction1. The Emergence of Ethical Controversy 2. First Embryo Research Regimes 3. The Ethics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research 4. Stem Cell and Cloning Politics Conclusion
Bibliography 259 Index 283
1 21 70
120 169 233
 P r e f a c e
Embryo research is one of the few political issues with no historical precedent. When does human life in the laboratory begin and deserve protection? When may embryos be destroyed to advance biomedical progress? These ethical and policy questions are only four decades old, but they will remain with us for a long time to come. In this book I explore how the United States, the United Kingdom, Ger many, and France have grappled with these questions so far. In setting out an argument about the intersection of politics, ethics, and policy, I focus on national bioethics committees, elected leaders, and their efforts to reconcile the moral status of the embryo and the imperative of biomedical progress in practice. In order to streamline the presentation, I have had to limit the treatment given to other aspects of embryo politics, including controversy within the scientific community over research priorities; social conflicts over sexuality, the family, and gender roles linked with invitro fertilization; and clashes over embryo donation and equal access to infertility and stem cell therapies. I have labored not to make this a work of advocacy. In keeping with the ideal of a valuefree social science as articulated by the great German soci ologist Max Weber (1864–1920), I seek to describe and explain the views and actions of participants in embryo politics, not to inject my own. In one fundamental sense, however, I admit to a normative agenda. I believe that the moral status of the embryo and the promise of biomedical research to reduce human suffering are critical and complex ethical issues. And I favor a politics that grapples openly with those issues over one that ignores or obfuscates them. Given the stakes, we should aspire to a high level of public ethical discourse that draws on the resources of our philosophical and reli gious traditions. I have incurred many debts in the writing of this book. Research leaves in 2000–2001 and 2004–5, supported by an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow ship, gave me as a scholar of German foreign policy and European integration an opportunity to delve into a new topic area. A series of indepth interviews
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viiiPREFACE
with experts and policymakers in the United States, United Kingdom, Ger many, and France proved an invaluable source of information and insight. Many colleagues at Georgetown University and elsewhere have read all or part of the manuscript and contributed very helpful comments and criticism. Peter Engelke, Amy Vander Vliet, and Chris Vukicevich provided invaluable research assistance. I am particularly grateful to Roger Haydon of Cornell University Press, who encouraged the project early on and shepherded it expertly to completion. Most of all I would like to express thanks to my wife Anja and our three daughters, Emma, Luisa, and Sophie. Their love and understanding have been an enduring source of strength and support throughout my work on this book. It is dedicated to them.
EMBRYO POLITICS
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