CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2019
| Author | Lau, Pin Lean |
|---|---|
| Title | Comparative Legal Frameworks of Pre-Implantation Genetic Interventions |
| Summary | This dissertation focuses on one of the major developments in science and technology in recent years. Breakthough research in the field of human genetic interventions are now viewed as possible solutions to eradicating genetic diseases and enhancing mechanisms of human immunity to viruses or diseases. In the process of seeking to achieve this goal, what is being discovered is a Pandora’s Box of other possible applications of genetic interventions for human beings, and much more so if we consider its possible pairing at the embryonic level with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). The possibility of altering DNA containing the genetic information of life, at the pre-implantation embryonic level, and its immutable consequences, legal and ethical, raises significant questions that make it not only relevant, but urgent, to embed into the fundamental tailoring of legal systems. The engagement with such technologies is imbued with the plurality of human choice and selection, making concerns about eugenic outcomes a reasonable one. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to navigate towards a deeper understanding of possible legal approaches that may be deployed to govern future pre-implantation genetic interventions. Through a methodological comparison of legal frameworks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand, the dissertation explores the underlying philosophical, socio-legal, cultural and ethical reasonings (in each jurisdiction) to not only justify legal genetic interventions, but to also critically understand the points at which different governments are willing to regulate biomedical technologies (‘the entry points of regulation’). By breaking through barriers to bring together considerations for a more internationalized global biomedical approach, this dissertation emphasizes the necessity to unlearn three key biases and misconceptions (which may also overlap with the key findings). These include: firstly, the divorcing of eugenics understanding from a specific historical event, and a reinterpretation of eugenics in contemporary settings; secondly, dismantling the narrative of fear and disconcert about these kinds of biomedical technologies; and thirdly, revisiting and employing an alternative understanding of universality in the international human rights corpus. Using the backdrop of international biomedical laws, individual constitutional systems and a variety of regulatory approaches that may be suitable to govern future pre-implantation genetic interventions, the findings in this dissertation advances three major points. Firstly, to reinterpret the meaning of eugenics in contemporary settings, and to make distinctions that would differentiate practices that may have eugenic outcomes, especially where pre-implantation genetic interventions are concerned. Secondly, to focus on strong governance, stable legal and/or regulatory frameworks and concise international outlooks in formulating the governance of future pre-implantation genetic interventions. Besides the traditional command-and-control top-down governance through positivist black letter law (which may be inadequate to deal with the advancement of technologies), the dissertation proposes the use of variable regulatory approaches (in complementarity with existing frameworks) that take inspiration from contemporary regulatory designs, such as responsible research innovation and legal foresighting, smart regulation and responsive regulation; as well as adaptive governance, and agency models. Thirdly, to use the proposed ‘entry points of regulation’ to update the definition of universality in internationalized human rights corpus, and a renegotiation of a common shared values system, that may be incorporated into different constitutional systems. |
| Supervisor | Sandor, Judit Marcella |
| Department | Legal Studies PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2019/lau_pin-lean.pdf |
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