PERCEPTION OF RISKS AND BENEFITS OF IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION, GENETIC-ENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

The use of new biotechnology, in medicine has become an everyday exper ience, but many people still express concern about biotechnology. Conc erns are evoked particularly by the phrases genetic engineering and in vitro fertilization (IVF), and these concerns persist despite more th an a decade of their use in medicine. Mailed nationwide opinion survey s on attitudes to biotechnology were conducted in Japan, among samples of the public (N = 551), high school biology teachers (N = 228), scie ntists (N = 555) and nurses (N = 301). People do see more benefits com ing from science than harm when balanced against the risks. There were especially mixed perceptions of benefit and risk about IVF and geneti c engineering, and a relatively high degree of worry compared to other developments of science and technology. A discussion of assisted repr oductive technologies and surrogacy in Japan is also made. The opinion s of people in Japan were compared to the results of previous surveys conducted in Japan, and international surveys conducted in Australia, China, Europe, New Zealand, U.K. and U.S.A. Japanese have a very high awareness of biotechnology, 97% saying that they had heard of the word . They also have a high level of awareness of IVF and genetic engineer ing. Genetic engineering was said to be a worthwhile research area for Japan by 76%, while 58% perceived research on IVF as being worthwhile , however 61% were worried about research on IVF or genetic engineerin g. Japanese expressed more concern about IVF and genetic engineering t han New Zealanders. The major reason cited for rejection of genetic ma nipulation research in Japan and New Zealand was that it was seen as i nterfering with nature, playing God or as unethical. The emotions conc erning these technologies are complex, and we should avoid using simpl istic public opinion data as measures of public perceptions. The level of concern expressed by scientists and teachers in Japan suggest that public education ''technology promotion campaigns'' will not reduce c oncern about science and technology. Such concern should be valued as discretion that is basic to increasing the bioethical maturity of a so ciety, rather than being feared.