Regulation of science

The regulation of science refers to use of law, or other ruling, by academic or governmental bodies to allow or restrict science from performing certain practices, or researching certain scientific areas. It is a bioethical issue related to other practices such as abortion and euthanasia; and areas of research such as stem-cell research and cloning synthetic biology.

Science could be regulated by legislation if seen as harmful (such as euthanasia), immoral (such as abortion), or dangerous. For these reasons it is closely related to religion, culture and society.

United States of America

Law	Jurisdiction	Purpose	Status	Effective Dates
Dickey-Wicker Amendment	Federal Law	Prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from using appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed.	In Effect	1996 - Present
Butler Act	State Law	A Tennessee law prohibiting public school teachers from denying the Biblical account of man's origin.	Repealed	1925 - 1967

See also

• Scientific freedom
• Politicization of science