Embryo Politics: Ethics and Policy in Atlantic Democracies

Thomas Banchoff

2011

In Embryo Politics: Ethics and Policy in Atlantic Democracies, Thomas Banchoff provides a comprehensive overview of political struggles about embryo research during four decades in four countries - the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Teasing out the ways national histories and institutions shape debate about the religious, moral, legal, and practical implications of embryo, stem cell, and cloning research, Banchoff demonstrates how partisan debate and religious-secular polarization have overshadowed ethical reflection and political deliberation on the moral status of the embryo and the promise of biomedical research. He concludes that only a robust and public ethical debate can help us effectively and responsibly govern emerging life-sciences technologies.

Table of Contents
Introduction
1. 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

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