{"id":4950,"date":"2025-12-06T00:01:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T00:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.uehiroethics.hiroshima-u.ac.jp\/en\/?p=4950"},"modified":"2025-12-06T00:14:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T00:14:59","slug":"elementor-44-5-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.uehiroethics.hiroshima-u.ac.jp\/en\/elementor-44-5-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Respect Without Romanticizing:Cultural Values, Parental Reasons, and Unproven Pediatric Treatments in East Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Respect Without Romanticizing:
<\/h2>Cultural Values, Parental Reasons, and Unproven Pediatric Treatments in East Asia<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Hiroshima University ethicists argue that absolute genetic confidentiality can harm families and the public<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Bioethics researchers from Japan and Korea have jointly published a critical examination of how to evaluate and respect \u201cparental reasons\u201d when making decisions about whether to undergo unproven pediatric treatments to children.<\/p>\n


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The study, which published in The American Journal of Bioethics<\/i>, analyzes two prominent cases in East Asia: South Korea\u2019s Hwang Woo-suk stem cell scandal and Japan\u2019s umbilical cord blood controversy, and show how sincere parental devotion can be manipulated by researchers, clinicians, and commercial entities when scientific uncertainties are obscured by moral rhetoric.<\/p>\n


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\u201dOur goal is to respect cultural values without making them unconditionally paramount,\u201d said Tsutomu Sawai, a Hiroshima University professor (special recognition) and author of the study. \u201cWhen families face a child\u2019s serious illness, cultural expectations around parental devotion can create moral vulnerability. We must protect these values from becoming tools for exploitation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n


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The essay examines how cultural concepts, such as <\/span>jeong<\/em> <\/span>(profound family devotion) in Korea and <\/span>akiramenai<\/em> <\/span>(never giving up) in Japan, influence parents\u2019 willingness to pursue treatments with little scientific evidence. In the Korean case, an entire family became research participants in a fabricated stem cell study, driven by cultural obligations to pursue even the slightest possibility of a cure. The child\u2019s father even served on the institutional review board approving the study, while the mother donated her eggs, contributions that were used to bolster the credibility of what later proved to be fraudulent research.<\/span><\/p>


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Regarding the Japan case, parents donated and stored umbilical cord blood based on misleading claims about treating conditions like autism and cerebral palsy. Until recently, private umbilical cord blood banks operated largely without regulation, with some clinics and commercial entities promoting unproven applications. A 2017 scandal involving the illegal administration of umbilical cord blood led to legal reforms, yet advocacy for these unproven treatments continued even after the misconduct became public.<\/span><\/p>


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While the societal values considered reflect genuine moral commitments, the authors argue that ethical deliberation must go beyond calculating risks and benefits for the patient. Clinicians must ensure parents are not operating under therapeutic misconception, recognize how cultural norms can silence doubt, and remain sensitive to how deeply rooted virtues can create moral vulnerability. These concerns are especially pertinent to parents who almost universally prioritize their child\u2019s health over all else.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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About the study<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Article: \u201cRespect Without Romanticizing: Cultural Values, Parental Reasons, and Unproven Pediatric Treatments in East Asia,\u201d<\/p>

Authors: Ji Hyun Yang, Shu Ishida, Chie Kobayashi, Tsutomu Sawai (corresponding author), Ilhak Lee.<\/p>

Journal: The American Journal of Bioethics<\/p>

URL: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/15265161.2025.2554803<\/a><\/p>

DOI: 10.1080\/15265161.2025.2554803<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Respect Without Romanticizing: Cultural Values, Parental Reasons, and Unproven Pediatric Treatments in East Asia Hiroshima University ethicists argue that absolute genetic confidentiality can harm families and the public Bioethics researchers from Japan and Korea have jointly published a critical examination of how to evaluate and respect \u201cparental reasons\u201d when making decisions about whether to undergo unproven pediatric treatments to children. The study, which published in The American Journal of Bioethics, analyzes two prominent cases in East Asia: South Korea\u2019s Hwang Woo-suk stem cell scandal and Japan\u2019s umbilical cord blood controversy, and show how sincere parental devotion can be manipulated by researchers, clinicians, and commercial entities when scientific uncertainties are obscured by moral rhetoric. \u201dOur goal is to respect cultural values without making them unconditionally paramount,\u201d said Tsutomu Sawai, a Hiroshima University professor (special recognition) and autho<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_canvas","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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