Delivering Policy: The Contested Politics of Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Canada - Hardcover

Scala, Francesca

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 077486009X ISBN 13: 9780774860093

Publisher: UBC Press, 2019

Synopsis

Are assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) such as in vitro fertilization a medical issue or a matter of public policy, subject to restrictions? In Delivering Policy, Francesca Scala employs the concept of boundary work to explain the prolonged debates that ensued when the Canadian government appointed a royal commission in 1989 to draw up a blueprint for legislative action.

From the birth of the first “test tube baby” in 1978 to the Assisted Human Reproduction Act of 2004, Scala reveals how policy makers, civil society actors, and members of the medical-scientific community attempted to define assisted reproductive technologies from within the realms of science or politics. They challenged, defended, or blurred the boundaries or divisions between the two fields of knowledge to secure their position as the authoritative voice on the issue.

Delivering Policy delineates in vivid detail the people, institutions, and processes that influenced ARTs policy in Canada. This compelling account contributes to our understanding of the interaction between science and politics, the exercise of social control over science and technology, and the politics of expertise in policy making.

About this title

About the Author

Francesca Scala is an associate professor of public policy in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University. She is the co-editor of Fertile Ground: Exploring Reproduction in Canada.

Edition details

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 077486009X
• ISBN 13: 9780774860093
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 252