Legal and Ethical Approaches to Stem Cell and Cloning Research: A Comparative Analysis of Policies in Latin America, Asia, and Africa

Abstract

Human reproductive cloning has become the most palpable example of the globalization of science. Throughout the world, events and conjectures in the media, such as the birth and death in the United Kingdom of the cloned sheep Dolly and projects to clone human beings by Korean scientists, by members of the Canadian-based Raelian cult, and by the Italian physician Antinori in an undisclosed country, have galvanized the political will of individual countries to ban human reproductive cloning.Yet, international attempts to harmonize policies in the area of biomedical ethics and human research, such as the 1997 Council of Europe’s Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, and most recently, the United Nations’ efforts to adopt an international convention against human reproductive cloning, have been insufficient to trigger a substantial global policy design process on issues relating to these new technologies.

Human-animal chimeras for vaccine development: an endangered species or opportunity for the developing world?

“…There is already research involving human-animal chimeras taking place in China [28,29] and there is a significant amount of research involving hESCells in India [30]. A comprehensive study to document the extent of research in more developing countries has not yet been performed, and the regulatory environments are evolving [31]. …”

Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Research: Methods and Approaches

“…A form of doctrinal research that is often used in ELSI research is comparative analysis, whereby researchers compare and analyze rules, policies, and practices in different contexts or jurisdictions. Typical examples in the ELSI literature focus on comparing legally binding instruments, such as legislation, court cases, and government regulations, and formal and informal non‐binding guidance, such as policy statements from scientific societies, bioethics committees, and professional organizations (Isasi & Knoppers, 2006; Isasi, Knoppers, Singer, & Daar, 2004; Tasse, 2016). The comparative analyses in ELSI work highlight and analyze the similarities or differences between jurisdictions with respect to values, rules, and practices that underlie scientific regulation, with the aim of identifying and assessing constructs that determine both local and global regulatory trends.…”

The contradiction of Indian innovation: an epistemological explanation

“…Countries such as China, India and others agreed that that their regulation of stem-cell research had to differ from the West (Isasi et al , 2004; Walters, 2004; DBT, 2017). Culturally India and other countries were accepting of stem-cell therapy due to belief in natural healing systems (McMahon and Thorsteinsdóttir, 2013) and the governments believed that this research could address their daunting disease burden.…”