Full Description
Are assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) such as in vitro fertilization a medical issue or a matter of public policy, subject to restrictions? In Delivering Policy, Francesca Scala employs the concept of boundary work to explain the prolonged debates that ensued when the Canadian government appointed a royal commission in 1989 to draw up a blueprint for legislative action.
From the birth of the first "test tube baby" in 1978 to the Assisted Human Reproduction Act of 2004, Scala reveals how policy makers, civil society actors, and members of the medical-scientific community attempted to define assisted reproductive technologies from within the realms of science or politics. They challenged, defended, or blurred the boundaries or divisions between the two fields of knowledge to secure their position as the authoritative voice on the issue.
Delivering Policy delineates in vivid detail the people, institutions, and processes that influenced ARTs policy in Canada. This compelling account contributes to our understanding of the interaction between science and politics, the exercise of social control over science and technology, and the politics of expertise in policy making.
Contents
1 Politics, Science, and ARTs Policy in Canada
2 Normalizing and Resisting Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Canadian and Comparative Perspectives
3 Claiming and Contesting Epistemic Authority: The Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies
4 Science and the Public Weigh In: The Discursive Terrain of ARTs Policy Making
5 "Proceed with Care": (Re)negotiating the Science/Politics Divide
6 Setting Boundaries and Crafting ARTs Legislation
7 Science, Boundary Work, and Parliamentary Politics: The Passing of Bill C-6
8 Understanding Boundary Work and ARTs Policy in Canada
Notes; References; Index
