Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This qualitative project explored the social and discursive construction of ethics in research laboratories and clinics working with human embyros. The dataset contains semi-structured interviews with clinicians, scientists, and related professionals. The study contributed towards understanding scientific governance in contemporary society, focusing upon the multiple ways in which ethics are played out in the clinic and the laboratory, and the relationships between these types of 'everyday ethics' and ethical discourses in other professional, political and public domains. Particular attention was paid to the relationship between ethics, efficacy and safety and where and when alignment and/or differentiation between them occur. This relates to debates about the ethics of 'clinical league tables', egg sharing and donor anonymity, in particular. The project contributed towards bridging the divide between the discipline of bioethics and social studies of governance in the biosciences, giving important insights into the relationships between ethics, experience and practice in clinical, laboratory and policy contexts. Further information can be found at the project's web page or ESRC funding award web page.

Main Topics:

Assisted conception; ethics; embryos; audit; regulation.

Purposive selection/case studies

Face-to-face interview

Telephone interview