August 2001 - Nr. 8
Ethics Council Debates
Stem Cell Imports
TWIG - Germany’s new national ethics council has started its deliberations on whether scientists in the Federal Republic should be allowed to import embryonic stem from other countries. Speaking with the press in Berlin Monday (July 9), council chairman Spiros Simitis stressed that the moral issues involved in biology today need to be resolved on more than just the national level. Established by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in early June, the ethics council is composed of scientists, religious leaders, and representatives of human rights organizations. Its task is to recommend policy, and it cannot make binding decisions independently.
Germany’s embryo protection law forbids the production of human embryonic stem cells, but the law does not cover the importation of stem cells from other countries. Government authorities recently learned that the universities of Lübeck and Cologne have both received shipments of human stem cells from the United States for use in medical research. One of these shipments was ordered by cardiologist Wolfgang Franz, now at the University of Munich. His project - on hold until its legal status is clarified - involves the development of heart muscles cells.
