The Ethics of Genetic Engineering

The scientific community feels that the importance of embryo protection should be weighed against the interests of patients and of medicine in general.

Some of the strongest objections to the demand from the scientific community for liberalizing the law protecting embryos come from the CDU and CSU parties, which have traditional links with the Catholic Church.

Liberalising the law protecting embryos would amount to constantly changing ethical standards to adapt to new technology, they feel.

But the CDU party itself is deeply divided over the issue and over the consequences this could entail. Artificial insemination and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) present a particular problem.

Is it ethically correct not to implant embryos that show some imperfection or to abort those where it is obvious that the child will have a handicap? Will this lead to a definition of desirable and undesirable traits in children and in the end to genetic selection?

Some prominent CDU politicians say that if doctors can determine whether an embryo is healthy, they should do so and inform the family. Others within the CDU ranks are against such selection.

They are of the view that disabled life is just as valuable and parents don't have the right to have only healthy children.

The governing Social Democrats don't have a single party line on the question of embryo research. They believe that eventually this has to be a matter of conscience and want it to be dealt with that way in the Bundestag.