Biomedical Policies in Belgium and Italy: From Regulatory Reluctance To Policy Changes
(2009) West European Politics —
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- Abstract
- Belgium and Italy stand out within Western Europe as countries that have shown pronounced reluctance to regulate assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and embryo research in the 1980s and 1990s, while the new millennium brought about major public policy “punctuation”. Belgium has changed from a strategy of non-decision to a permissive regulation on embryos and ART practices. Italy has moved from a lack of ART regulation to a relatively restrictive framework. The purpose of our contribution is twofold. First, it aims at explaining Belgium and Italy's reluctance to regulate ART until roughly 2000. We rely on three explanatory factors: the deeply divided character of societies, the weight and the divisions of political parties, and the autonomy of physicians. Second, referring in part to the punctuated equilibrium model of Baumgartner and Jones, we explain the policy change in both Belgium and Italy in the first decade of 21st century.
- Affiliations
FUCaM Sciences Politiques, Sociales et de Communication
Citations
Schiffino-Leclercq, N. (2009). Biomedical Policies in Belgium and Italy: From Regulatory Reluctance To Policy Changes. West European Politics. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/249668