[Editorial] Scientific Research and Women's Bodies

Thirty five women's groups have announced they will join together in a lawsuit against the state over the issue of ova extraction for research purposes. They claim that the state has responsibility to bear for the physical and psychological scars of egg donors because it did not engage in adequate oversight of those involved in the research and the medical facilities that perform ova extraction. It is only natural that they take issue with the system and current practices, because extracting ova is done too easily and because there is a lack of adequate controls and supervision.

The dangers of ova extraction have long been ignored in embryonic stem cell research. The facilities that have performed the procedure have not been thorough in formally seeking donors' consent, and Seoul National University's Institutional Review Board (IRB) failed to stay on top of what was happening. Government bodies such as the National Bioethics Commission and the Ministry of Health and Welfare ignored the way those involved were cutting corners, and it was in such a climate that the ruinous fiasco was born.

The lawsuit is significant, but not because of the legal fight itself. The hope is that it will lead to introspection and a change in the way our society – and in particular government, business, and the National Assembly – place more importance on industrial value than the value of life. Countries that allow eggs to be donated for research are an extreme minority. In the United States human ova can be sold but even then they are not to be used for research purposes, and in Europe they can only be donated for treatment purposes. That makes Korea heaven for scientists in bioengineering, since they can be donated for both research and treatment. To women, however, that signifies a freedom to exploit of life and body.

The problem lies not with those who seek to donate eggs to research into treatment for incurable diseases. Indeed, women who donate with such humanitarian motives should be highly commended. Rather, it is those charge of the research, the government, and the system that are the problem. The issue is the low level of awareness about life and an inadequate system for oversight. One hopes the lawsuit awakens the country to the dignity of life and women's bodies, and that it will lead to a revamping of the way the state goes about supervision.

The Hankyoreh, 7 February 2006.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]