Regulation and hESC Research in Australia: Promises and Pitfalls for Deliberative Democratic Approaches

dc.contributor.authorDodds, S.
dc.contributor.authorAnkeny, R.
dc.date.issued2006
dc.descriptionThe original publication can be found at www.springerlink.com
dc.description.abstractThis paper considers the legislative debates in Australia that led to the passage of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act (Cth 2002) and the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act (Cth 2002). In the first part of the paper, we discuss the debate surrounding the legislation with particular emphasis on the ways in which demands for public consultation, public debate and the education of Australians about the potential ethical and scientific impact of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) research were deployed, and the explicit and implicit framing of the scope of public consultation. We then ask whether, given the calls for public consultations, debate and understanding, current work in democratic theory could be helpful in analysing the process of policy-making in these areas. In particular, we canvass the literature relating to aggregative and deliberative models of democracy for processes that support the legitimacy of policy. We identify features of the debate that reflect the appeal of deliberative approaches as well as some of the possible hurdles or limitations to developing deliberative democratic approaches to policy in ethically contentious areas.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilitySusan Dodds and Rachel A. Ankeny
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2006; 3(1-2):95-107
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s11673-006-9007-4
dc.identifier.issn1176-7529
dc.identifier.issn1872-4353
dc.identifier.orcidAnkeny, R. [0000-0002-1547-6031]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/34332
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.source.urihttp://www.springerlink.com/content/3k46497800428515/
dc.subjectStem cell transplantation
dc.subjectBioethics
dc.subjectEmbryo research
dc.subjectPublic policy
dc.titleRegulation and hESC Research in Australia: Promises and Pitfalls for Deliberative Democratic Approaches
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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