Informed consent is medico-legal orthodoxy and the principal means by which research encounters with the body are regulated in the UK. However, biomedical advancements increasingly frustrate the degree to which informed consent can be practiced, whilst introducing ambiguity into its legal significance. What is more, feminist theory fundamentally disrupts the ideologically liberal foundations of informed consent, exposing it as a potentially inadequate mode of bioethical regulation. This paper explores these critiques by reference to a case study—embryo donation to health research, following fertility treatment, as regulated by the HFEA 1990—and contends that informed consent cannot adequately respond to the material realities of this research encounter. Thereafter, by drawing on feminist theories of vulnerability, this paper proffers an alternative bioethical approach, which calls for structural reform in recognition of the fundamentally bilateral constitution of self and society and a renewed appreciation for the affective/dispositional tenor of lived experience.

中文翻译：

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脆弱性和同意主体：重新构想胚胎捐赠中的知情同意

知情同意是医学法律的正统观念，也是英国规范研究与身体接触的主要手段。然而，生物医学的进步越来越阻碍了知情同意的实施，同时在其法律意义中引入了歧义。更重要的是，女权主义理论从根本上破坏了知情同意的意识形态自由基础，将其暴露为一种潜在的不足的生物伦理监管模式。本文通过参考案例研究来探讨这些批评——根据 HFEA 1990 的规定，在生育治疗后将胚胎捐赠给健康研究——并认为知情同意不能充分回应这项研究遇到的物质现实。此后，通过借鉴女性主义的脆弱性理论，