Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Cloning Of Human Beings Transgenic Animals - 1,018 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

1. Introduction When the birth of the cloned sheep Dolly became headline news in February 1997, cloning instantly turned into a heated topic for debate all over the world. Almost three years on, it seemed the right moment to collect and share the experiences gained within various countries with this debate on cloning. For this aim the Rathenau Institute, the Dutch parliamentary technology assessment organization, set up a one-day international symposium on November 19, 1999 in Amsterdam, with speakers from three continents and seven different countries: Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United States, and South Korea.

All speakers were actively involved in organizing the policymaking process and public debate on cloning. This article provides a summary of the presentations given at the symposium and an analysis of the results. In particular, the relationship between the political and public debate is discussed. It is concluded that in Italy, South Korea and the United States that relationship was weak. The political system in the other four European countries - Great Britain, Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands - did pay attention to the public debate. The way in which this was done differed from country to country. 2.

The morning session: Switzerland, Denmark, United States and Italy During the morning session experiences of four countries - Switzerland, the US, Denmark and Italy - with the debate on cloning were compared, in conjunction with the political aspects of the debate. Switzerland At the time the birth of Dolly was reported in the media, Switzerland was in the grip of a referendum on biotechnology, which was initiated by environmental activists and animal welfare organizations. The initiative asked for a ban on the creation of transgenic animals, including medical laboratory mice, a ban on releasing genetically manipulated plant species to be planted in the open, and a ban on the patenting of living material. According to Richard Braun, Vice-Chairman of the Task Group on Public Perceptions of the European Federation of Biotechnology and Professor Emeritus General Microbiology, Switzerland experienced a small "Dolly dip" as the number of people that thought favorably about genetic modification suddenly decreased around April 1997.

The effect was temporary though, and the horror stories in the media rapidly disappeared from the front pages and from the minds of the public. Two main reasons can be found. First, the Swiss constitution already prohibited the reproductive cloning of humans. Second, cloning as an issue became absorbed by the larger debate that was held at the time in the frame of the referendum on biotechnology. According to Braun, the referendum took the biotechnological world by surprise. "We saw ourselves compelled to get actively involved in the public debate. " Scientists took part in public debates, wrote articles, allowed extensive interviewing by a very active Swiss press, and organized two demonstrations in Zurich and Geneva. "The biotechnological world has clearly learned lessons from the referendum, " said Braun. "We found out that direct democracy evidently works. " Braun held that technology can be submitted to public debate. This demands a certain familiarity with and pro-active attitude of the public towards technology.

Braun stressed that the dialogue should be conducted "horizontally", that is "scientist must also listen, take the concerns of people serious, use understandable terminology, actively engage in interviews and forums. " Partly as a result of the open and communicative attitude of the scientific world the public trust in scientists strongly increased. This was reflected in the outcome of the referendum. In June 1998, almost two-thirds of the population voted against the proposed ban on biotechnology. Denmark In Denmark, as in most other countries, policy makers were less prepared for the debate on cloning.

Jan Ejlsted, then Deputy Director of the Danish Board of Technology started his presentation with the statement "Thank God for Dolly", because Dolly triggered the debate on biotechnology. Dolly also exposed the weakness of the political system with respect to anticipating scientific breakthroughs. In Denmark (as well as Norway) politicians tried hard to take away public unrest as fast as possible. Only three months after Dolly the Danish Board of Technology was asked to organize a parliamentary hearing. Directly after the hearing, the Danish Parliament laid down a number of decisions. A biotech early-warning system was established to prevent the political system from being taken by surprise again by the scientific system.

Moreover, research on cloning was severely restricted. While these quick decisions were instrumental in taking away the initial public fears, they did not settle the debate for long. The debate evolved into an overall biotechnological debate, also on transgenic animals. In addition, pragmatism gained ground in the debate as Danish researchers started fighting the restrictive legislation of 1997. Ejlsted is skeptical about the future. "The political system has learned nothing and is not able to present sensible regulation in advance of public agitation.

Xenotransplantation might trick the political system in the same way. The logic of the political system makes that likely to happen. " United States Philip Bereano, professor of Technical Communication and a founding member of the Council for Responsible Genetics, was even more critical about the current and future situation in the United States. Within the American discussion the issues are modification, patents, factory-like production of organs, and uniformity versus diversification. Although there is a powerful opposition from the side of the religious fundamentalists, and ninety percent of the people in the United States declares itself to be against the cloning of human beings, there is little public debate on cloning. Bereano held that in general the American public debate around science and technology is fragmented or non-existent. "We do not have a public debate on any technology, like you do in Europe. " Despite high stakes and public dislike "the united front of science, technology and business just goes on. " Bereano thought it to be typical for the lack of debate in the United States that the National Bio-ethical Commission did not come out with a common point of view and only on pragmatic grounds pleaded for a moratorium on the cloning of human beings.

Bereano analyzed that there is...


Free research essays on topics related to: actively involved, political system, transgenic animals, cloning of human beings, public debate

Research essay sample on Cloning Of Human Beings Transgenic Animals

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com