Why a criminal ban? Analyzing the arguments against somatic cell nuclear transfer in the Canadian parliamentary debate.
Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) remains a controversial technique, one that has elicited a variety of regulatory responses throughout the world. On March 29, 2005, Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act came into force. This law prohibits a number of research activities, including SCNT. Given the pluralistic nature of Canadian society, the creation of this law stands as an interesting case study of the policy-making process and how and why a liberal democracy ends up making the relatively rare decision to use a statutory prohibition, backed by severe penalties, to stop a particular scientific activity. In this article, we provide a comprehensive and systematic legal analysis of the legislative process and parliamentary debates associated with the passage of this law.
Caulfield
Timothy
T
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. tcaulfld@law.ualberta.ca
Bubela
Tania
T
D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada; D019976:Cloning, Organism / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D033041:Embryo Research / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D053652:Nuclear Transfer Techniques / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*