| Summary: | All UK establishments licensed to conduct experiments under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 must establish an Ethical Review Process (ERP). The ERP is not required to include lay participation but this is considered to be best practice. This thesis investigates how ERPs, particularly through the inclusion of lay participants, contribute to the regulation of animal experimentation. It is based on semi-structured interviews with 20 ERP members and observations of ERP committee meetings over one year. The study describes the social practices and experience of lay members, how 'layness' is defined, and how <doing ethics' is accomplished within regulatory constraints. The findings document the practical meaning of terms such as 'lay' and 'ethics' in the process of ethical review and their relationship to the regulators' asswnptions. The project contributes to Science and Technology Studies through its discussions of boundary work and expertise, regulatory capture and empirical bioethics. The ERP is a context for examining the interaction between ethics, science and law, simultaneously constructing and contesting what it means to be 'lay' and to be 'ethical'. 'Layness' is found to be an inherently ambiguous and fluid concept, according to the role lay members are expected to play. Lay members' contributions to their ERP reflect local resolutions of this ambiguity rather than centralised rules. Each ERP is a unique entity, reflecting its particular mix of expertise. Scientific work that passes through the ERP is considered to be ethical simply by this passage rather than by conforming to some wider notion of ethical science. The ERPs' flexibility should be further studied as the regulatory system evolves in relation to social and economic pressures. However, the possible implications of policy changes in pursuit of greater efficiency may limit the role of the ERP itself and weaken the contribution of lay members.
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