Thompson Paul B
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1032, USA.
Reprod Fertil Dev. 2008;20(1):67-73. doi: 10.1071/rd07184.
The present paper reviews the current status of opinion and debate regarding ethical issues in three broad categories of relevance to animal biotechnology. The first is scientific integrity, where the focus has been on scientific fraud and the integrity of the research process. The second concerns possible harms or risks to parties affected either directly by research (including animals themselves) or through the eventual commercialisation or development of products from animal biotechnology. The final category concerns a responsibility to serve as a guardian of the public interest with respect to application and development of technologies derived from new genetic sciences. It is plausible to see the scientific community as a whole having such a fiduciary obligation to the broader public in virtue of the technical complexity of the issues and owing to the public funding and institutional support for scientific research. The overall conclusion is that in the latter two categories especially, there is an urgent need for new participation in deliberative consideration of ethical issues by working scientists.
本文回顾了与动物生物技术相关的三大类伦理问题的当前观点和争论现状。第一类是科学诚信，其重点在于科研欺诈和研究过程的诚信。第二类涉及研究直接影响的各方（包括动物本身）或动物生物技术产品最终商业化或开发所可能带来的危害或风险。最后一类涉及在应用和开发源自新基因科学的技术方面作为公众利益守护者的责任。鉴于这些问题的技术复杂性，以及由于科学研究获得的公共资金和机构支持，将整个科学界视为对更广泛公众负有这种信托义务是合理的。总体结论是，特别是在后两类问题上，在职科学家迫切需要新的参与，对伦理问题进行审议性思考。
