Event Review: Talking Embryos – Changing public perceptions of embryo research

In this lecture, given in acceptance of the prestigious Royal Society's Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal 2023 awarded for excellence in the presentation of science, Professor Sarah Franklin – who leads the Reproductive Sociology Research Group at the University of Cambridge and is renowned for her research into the social aspects of new reproductive technology – spoke about her research into changing public perceptions of embryo research and IVF. Illustrating how natural science is studied within the social sciences, Professor Franklin - who is the first sociologist to receive the prize - addressed the topic of human embryo research. She asked, what can we learn from the embryo research debate about public engagement with science? And how can this question be researched sociologically?

Professor Franklin began her account of the evolution of public debate over embryo research by describing the shift from 'deficit to dialogue' that occurred in the 1990s. Widespread mistrust in science at the time led to a move away from the idea that the public needs to be informed by science to the understanding that it is science that needs to be informed by the public. Professor Franklin addressed the factors that contributed to this shift in public opinion, illustrating the role of social science and interdisciplinarity in the successful translation of new reproductive technologies and the restoration of public confidence.

Outlining a series of 'snapshot' sociological observations on how the public talk about and perceive embryo research, Professor Franklin first examined the origins of embryo research regulation and the birth of the Warnock approach. Professor Franklin said the UK offers a valuable case study because it is the only country to have succeeded in passing comprehensive regulation to regulate embryo research and fertility. How did this become so? Professor Franklin explained the Warnock Committee overcame considerable concern over embryo research using 'Warnockian principles'; accepting that people have strong views on subject of human embryo and, since there will never be agreement, compromise is needed. Any legislation would also be better than having none. Professor Franklin said that Mary Warnock, the chair of the Committee, accepted that we will never know what is the 'right' way to treat embryos, but we need to determine what is 'alright for enough people'.

This engagement with the social aspects of embryo research laid the foundations for a solid legal framework that promoted cohesion, public trust and mutuality, explained Professor Franklin. The approach the Warnock Committee proposed was essentially a 'social contract' - in exchange for allowing IVF and embryo research to continue, these fields must have suitable oversight. In turn, sensitive and emotionally charged work could continue, as long as the public could be reassured that the research was in safe hands and sensibly governed. The passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990 was testament to the hard work of Mary Warnock and others, Professor Franklin said, and gave a huge boost to IVF in the UK, helping establish Britain as an IVF hub.

Next, Professor Franklin spoke about the 'transformative impact' of IVF and how this motivated those involved in Parliamentary debates at the time. Professor Franklin spoke of her research interviewing women about their experiences of IVF, which revealed that embryos have complex meanings for those immersed in the 'topsy turvy world of IVF'. Amid the 'magnitude of expectation laced with peril', said Professor Franklin, embryos embodied technical progress and glimpse of a miracle. The experiences of those undergoing IVF featured prominently in the Parliamentary debates that led to the HFE Act, underlying the importance of examining the views of those impacted by science as well as non-scientists more generally.

Professor Franklin then described how technological developments in embryo research were perceived in society. After the HFE Act was passed, embryo research gathered pace, leading to the development of cloning techniques and the birth of Dolly the Sheep. Around this time, images of microinjection become ubiquitous, Professor Franklin said, adding that to the public this image has become a symbol of the remaking of the human and life itself. Yet Professor Franklin said engagement with the public about the creation of stem-cell-based embryo models reveals limited awareness about regulation, and a desire for more information about basic science. While public confidence in science is high, and there is a high level of respect for UK regulation, there is remains a desire for more public dialogue, she said.

In conclusion, Professor Franklin outlined several main take aways from the lecture. First, good science communication and robust regulation can increase the capacity for science to deliver public benefits by increasing public trust. However, building consensus takes time and necessitates compromise, which in turn requires 'wise architects'. Second, the direct experience of seeing embryos in clinics and the microengineering of reproductive cells have helped to produce a frame shift in how people understand embryo research. Like IVF, embryo research is now seen as a 'hope technology'. Third, IVF has become a naturalised, normalised and familiar part of the world – we are now 'after IVF', Professor Franklin said. Finally, recent research on the public perceptions of human embryo research suggests a willingness to accept controversial projects because they have been repeatedly subject to extensive consultation.

Professor Franklin ended by saying 'thinking sociologically' is as important to effective scientific policy as the science itself. She said Mary Warnock and her scientific advisor, Dame Anne McLaren, offered a masterclass in strategic policy design and a sociological approach to biological translation. It is no wonder therefore that many of the Warnock Report recommendations, such as the 14-day rule, have been emulated by other countries across the world (see for example BioNews 1235).