Haimes Erica, Porz Rouven, Scully Jackie, Rehmann-Sutter Christoph
New Genet Soc. 2008 Jun;27(2):113-126. doi: 10.1080/14636770802077041. Epub 2008 Aug 24.
The moral status of the human embryo has gained much attention in debates over the acceptability, or otherwise, of human embryonic stem cell research. Far less attention has been paid to the suppliers of those embryos: people who have undergone IVF treatment to produce embryos to assist them to have a baby. It is sociologically and ethically important to understand their views and experiences of being asked to donate embryos for research if we are to fully understand the wider social and regulatory aspects of hESC science. This paper reports on parallel studies investigating these issues in the UK and in Switzerland. The studies reveal the inextricable entangling of the social and moral status of embryos. Since donors participate in different discursive domains and contexts (public, clinic, family) that shape their perception of "what" an embryo is, their views of embryos embody conflicting ideas and ambivalences.
人类胚胎的道德地位在关于人类胚胎干细胞研究是否可接受的辩论中备受关注。然而，对于这些胚胎的提供者——那些接受体外受精治疗以产生胚胎来帮助他们生育孩子的人，却很少有人关注。如果我们要全面理解人类胚胎干细胞科学更广泛的社会和监管方面，那么了解他们对于被要求捐赠胚胎用于研究的看法和经历在社会学和伦理上是很重要的。本文报道了在英国和瑞士针对这些问题进行的平行研究。研究揭示了胚胎的社会和道德地位之间无法分割的纠缠。由于捐赠者参与了塑造他们对“胚胎是什么”认知的不同话语领域和背景（公共领域、诊所、家庭），他们对胚胎的看法体现了相互冲突的观念和矛盾心理。
