• Technology

• Health

• Environment

• Project Co-ordinator: Minou Bernadette Friele, M.A.    

• Contact: Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Felix Thiele, M. Sc.  

• Memorandum: D. Solter et al.: Embryo Research in Pluralistic Europe.,
  Springer 2003 (Ethics and Technology Assessment, Vol. 21)

• Documentation: Graue Reihe 24: Friele, Minou Bernadette (Ed.): Embryo Experimentation in Europe. Bio-medical, Legal, and Philosophical Aspects, 2/2001

• Duration: 1/01–12/03

• Funding: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

• Further Information on “Human Genetics”

Recent advances in embryology and reproductive biology have opened up new ways to treat a wide range of medical problems. They range from new options in fertility treatment and preimplantation genetic diagnosis to stem-cell-based therapies for debilitating diseases. Since all these approaches involve the manipulation of human gametes, embryos or embryonic cells, and could also permit more contentious uses, they have stimulated a controversial debate as to what aims are desirable and to what extent experiments on human embryos are morally permissible.
The situation is further complicated by the facts that scientific projects are increasingly carried out in international co-operation and that patients are already seeking medical treatment wherever it is available. In view of the European harmonization process and the situation previously described, the project focused on the question of how research on human embryos can be dealt with on an international or supranational level and, against the background of different cultural identities, whether common international regulations are sensible at all. Besides considering the biomedical aspects, the study examined the different legal traditions in the member countries and illustrated different public opinions about embryo research.

Humangenetik