In Australia, the twin discoveries that resulted in Dolly the Sheep and the isolation of human embryonic stem cells in the 1990s prompted the then Minister for Health to request that the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) examine the issue of cloning and stem-cell science more closely. It is the AHEC’s job to report—in an ad hoc manner at the Minister’s request—on “any issues deemed to be pertinent to the Australian community.” Cloning and stem-cell science were big news worldwide, and (...) the Australian Government needed to be seen to act on it. What happened next was partly a reflection of the cultural values of the Australian community, and partly an expression of the social context of the use of .. (shrink)