Dynamics of the framing policies of human embryonic stem cell research in France: a relevant socio-scientific issue for education through and about the media

Since the end of the nineties, the French bioethics laws, which regulate the uses of the human embryonic stem cells, are regularly revised. The aim of this paper is to identify the epistemic and the ethical aspects of this socio-scientific issue. We map the main positions and arguments expressed within the public space. We focus on the process of the latest review of the bioethics laws, presented by the government as a participatory process. Putting this controversy into sociohistorical context, we suggest some guidelines for teachers to address the issue regarding the use of human embryonic stem cells. With the support of empirical data, we discuss the issue of training students to a critical approach to the media treatment of this controversy. We argue about what we consider as a major educational issue: training students to critical rationality, that is to say, to learn ways to address complex issues and to be able to transform social reality, particularly by communicating their informed opinions.