Abstract

Australian ethicists O’Keeffe and McGovern provide a comprehensive account of the move in Australia from a widespread view that destructive research on human embryos was ethically abhorrent, to the current, heavily regulated system whereby human embryos can be used or even created via somatic cell nuclear transfer for destructive research. The chapter focuses on events surrounding three landmark committees established by the Australian Government: the Andrews Committee in 2001, the Lockhart Review in 2005, and the Heerey Review in 2011. O’Keeffe and McGovern particularly detail the contribution of “religious actors” who almost without exception have continued to oppose destructive research on human embryos. The chapter contrasts the principled position of religious actors with the utilitarian ethic which now permeates Australian discourse on cloning and human embryo research.