ABSTRACT
This double special issue concerns the embedding of stem cell research in Asian societies: by examining the interplay between regulation and the contexts in which it is given meaning and affects the people that use the regulation, the special issue looks beyond formal regulatory guidelines for stem cell research. Much debate has been held on the regulatory, ethical and philosophical aspects of stem cell research, which usually emphasizes the political, moral and organizational aspects of the research. These discussions often study the decisions made by individual persons, ignoring the particular cultural and socio-political contexts of debates on regulation. In some cases, philosophical perspectives on bioethics project the ideologies of particular political cultures on to society. Thus, Confucian approaches advocate a Confucian society and utilitarian approaches advocate a society based on “free choice” (Sleeboom-Faulkner 2007, 2010). Rather than looking for ethical principles, this special issue tries to understand bioethical principles and research regulation in their societal embedding, which includes the socio-economic and politico-ideological aspects of the society. Contributors to the special issue, then, adopt an empirical approach to the study of stem cell research, using various methods based on fieldwork and interviews to fortify our insight into the practical workings of bioethics in societies.
