Ethics and Public Policy
Research > Ethics and Public Policy
The study of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine raises many unanswered questions about how the technologies will be managed, what moral implications may arise, whether there may be unknown risks, and how to make treatments accessible to the many people who may need them.
For some, the various ways cells are derived--from very early stage embryos, somatic cell nuclear transfer (cloning), or alternative techniques that may create ambiguous, embryo-like entities—creates a moral concern about the instrumental use of early forms of human life.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an interdisciplinary group with expertise in social science, law, medicine and philosophy actively engages in the broader concerns related to regenerative medicine and interacts with university researchers regarding issues of oversight and research ethics.
Bioethics and policy faculty members provide significant service at local, national and international levels; they develop ethical guidelines and provide consultation on ethical and social issues.
Scholarly work includes research on the moral implications of crossing species boundaries (creating chimeras and cybrids), analyzing emerging regulatory and legal arenas related to regenerative medicine (cross-country comparative analysis), patenting and intellectual property issues, understanding broader social and cultural issues, and clinical ethics for trials of both adult and embryonic stem cells.
Faculty: Alta Charo, Norman Fost, Linda Hogle, Rob Streiffer