University researcher writes first in-depth study of bioethics

15 Dec 2014

Manchester University Press has published the first open access monograph in the field of bioethics, written by Dr Duncan Wilson, Research Associate in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM)

Funded by Wellcome Trust, 'The making of British bioethics' provides the first in-depth study of how philosophers, lawyers and other ‘outsiders’ came to play a major role in discussing and helping to regulate issues that used to be left to doctors and scientists.

It details how British bioethics emerged thanks to a dynamic interplay between sociopolitical concerns and the aims of specific professional groups and individuals who helped create the demand for outside involvement and transformed themselves into influential ‘ethics experts’.

Highlighting this interplay helps us appreciate how issues such as embryo research and assisted dying became high-profile ‘bioethical’ concerns in the late twentieth century, and why different groups now play a critical role in developing regulatory standards and leading public debates.

The book draws on a wide range of original sources and will be of interest to historians of medicine and science, general historians and bioethicists.