The Italian Way to Stem Cell Research: Rethinking the Role of Catholic Religion in Shaping Italianstem Cell Research Regulations

Stem cell research regulations are highly variable across nations, notwith- standing shared and common ethical concerns. Dominant in political debates has been the so-called embryo question. However, the permissi- bility of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research varies among national regulatory frameworks. Scholars have explained differences by resorting to notions of political culture, traditions of ethical reasoning, dis- cursive strategies and political manoeuvring of involved actors. Explana- tions based on the role of religion or other cultural structural variables are also employed. This paper analyses the emerging of the Italian regulatory framework on stem cell research using an analytical framework that con- siders the interplay between cultural structural features, political culture, traditions of ethical reasoning, institutional settings and the discursive and political agency of the actors involved. It aims also to explain the role of Roman Catholic Church in shaping the Italian stem cell research regula- tion not by treating religion as an autonomous causal factor, but through the analysis of the agency of Catholic and allied actors in the Italian politi- cal culture and institutional setting.