School of Social Science and Public Policy, King's College London, United Kingdom.
Soc Sci Med. 2013 Dec;98(100):345-50. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.10.028. Epub 2013 Nov 1.
The paper is based on a large qualitative study of ethics, policy and regulation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) science in Iran. This case study in five academic research centres used semi-structured interviews to examine in depth the views of stem cell scientists, embryologists and ethics committee members on hESC research policy in this Shia Muslim country. Although Iran's policy approach has been considered 'intermediate', what is described here seems to be a 'more flexible' policy on hESC science. This article describes three arguments to explain why Iran has shaped such a policy. These are: (1) a flexibility of the Shia tradition has allowed for hESC science; (2) permissive policy related to other fields of biomedicine, such as new assisted reproductive technologies, facilitated approval of hESC research; and (3) a lack of public debate of bioscience in Iran influences how its hESC research policy is perceived. Based on the empirical data, this paper then expands and refines the conceptual bioethical basis for the co-production of science, policy, and society in Iran. The notion of co-production implies that scientists, policy-makers, and sometimes other societal actors cooperate in the exchange, production, and application of knowledge to make science policy.
本文基于对伊朗人类胚胎干细胞 (hESC) 科学的伦理、政策和法规的大型定性研究。这项在五个学术研究中心进行的案例研究采用半结构化访谈，深入探讨了干细胞科学家、胚胎学家和伦理委员会成员对这个什叶派穆斯林国家 hESC 研究政策的看法。尽管伊朗的政策方法被认为是“中间派”，但这里所描述的似乎是对 hESC 科学的“更灵活”政策。本文描述了三个论点来解释为什么伊朗制定了这样的政策。这些论点是：(1) 什叶派传统的灵活性允许 hESC 科学存在；(2) 与其他生物医学领域相关的宽松政策，如新的辅助生殖技术，为 hESC 研究的批准提供了便利；(3) 伊朗对生物科学的公共辩论缺乏影响了人们对其 hESC 研究政策的看法。基于经验数据，本文随后扩展和完善了伊朗科学、政策和社会共同产生的概念性生物伦理基础。共同产生的概念意味着科学家、政策制定者，有时还有其他社会行为者在知识的交流、生产和应用方面进行合作，以制定科学政策。
