The questions "What is possible in science at the present time?", "What are the consequences of science?", and "What is science allowed to do?" are now being posed more urgently than ever.
The new possibilities of basic research in the biological sciences and biotechnological applications derived from the insights of genome research and gene technology provide new chances worldwide for sustainable improvement of our living conditions and our economic strength. They engender hope but also fears, because they open up novel and up to now unimaginable opportunities to influence the mechanisms of life. They lead to ever new questions and intensive public debates about the limits of research.
Science and the public are in complete agreement that life science research contributes significantly to understanding diseases and to developing possibilities for therapy and sustainable production. On the other hand, there is awareness that with the rapid growth of new knowledge and methods, the possibilities for an abuse increase as well. The risks are felt to be especially threatening when the scientific facts are complex and are difficult to make understood. Many people feel insufficiently informed to make an assessment of the goals, approaches, and consequences of genome research.
It is therefore necessary that scientists inform the public about what they are doing and explain their goals in an easy-to-understand fashion. At the same time, the scientist will see his work questioned in quite another way by interested citizens. A broad but fair debate throughout society must take place..
The legal framework must ensure that citizens can profit from the chances of genome research and gene technology on the one hand – such as in the cure of disease – and on the other hand are protected with appropriate measures from the possibilities of abuse, such as through the unauthorized circulation of patients’ confidential genetic data. Here, however, it must be assured that the measures protect the citizens and also grant scientists fundamental freedom to research.
To ensure a factual and differentiated view of genome research, the German Federal Government has initiated different measures. Thus, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) fosters research projects concerning ethical, legal, and social aspects in the biosciences. They are an integral part of the work of the National Genome Research Network (NGFN), and can be taken into consideration in the disease-related genome research. These measures are complemented by discourse projects. Of special significance in this connection was the "Year of the Life Sciences", which the BMBF and the top scientific associations organized in 2001. A sustained broadening of the bioethical expertise in Germany shall be achieved with new actions for fostering secondary growth.
Moreover, the Federal Government established the National Ethic Council in June 2001, which includes scientific experts and policy makers, experts in philosophy, theology, from law and the social sciences, and representatives of important groups in society such as patient associations, employer associations, unions, and the churches in the debate. It takes a position with regard to ethical issues of the life sciences and their consequences for the individual and society and works out policy recommendations.
Furthermore, the Federal Government supports the establishment of the German Reference Center for Ethics in the Biosciences (DRZE) as an infrastructure institute. The DRZE collects and documents bioethical publications and makes them available to the public. Since its establishment in 1999 it has established itself as an important scientific institution both on the national and international level.
