2 / 2021 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS 7
research is used to gain scientific knowledge and to expand medical knowledge for the purpose of developing diagnostic , preventative or therapeutic procedures . Scientists should also be permitted to obtain human embryonic stem cells from surplus embryos to use for high-level research objectives . The high-calibre nature of each research project should be verified by a specially created committee .
The couples from which the embryos originate should be the ones to decide whether to make surplus embryos available for research purposes . To help them make an informed decision , couples should be given independent counselling beforehand .
A legal framework should also be established to regulate the use of surplus embryos in research projects . As part of this , a federal authority could work together with an ethics committee to decide on a case-by-case basis whether projects should be permitted . This would be comparable to how the Robert Koch Institute and the Central Ethics Committee for Stem Cell Research ( ZES ) provide permission as regulated for in the German Stem Cell Act ( StZG ). Here , the aim must be to ensure that the research projects are of a high calibre and that the embryo research can be monitored .
This could be modelled on the process followed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority ( HFEA ) in the United Kingdom . This would also create transparency , which would faciwishing to start a family . In many countries , the third option is to use these embryos for high-level research objectives . However , this is currently not possible in Germany . As a result , German scientists are also largely unable to contribute to the development of international standards . Even in cases where the law in Germany does not stand in the way of scientific cooperation , the fear of criminal prosecution frequently deters scientists in Germany and abroad from even considering the idea of working together . This is causing significant harm to Germany as a research site .
Opinions still vary widely on the appropriate way to handle human embryos outside of the body . Nevertheless , liberal societies are characterised by their tolerance of different ethical viewpoints and their desire to find political compromi-
Jochen Taupitz ML
Director of the Institute for German , European and International Medical Law , Public Health Law and Bioethics of the Universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim / Germany . His main areas of focus are medical and public health law . He values interdisciplinary studies and uses insight from Bioethics , Natural Sciences and Medicine .
“ Renewed discussions on the permissibility of research on embryos for high-level research objectives are , in fact , long overdue .“
Image : private ses . With this in mind , in vitro research ( i . e . research conducted outside of the human body ) on early embryos which were originally created for reproductive purposes , but are no longer needed for this should be allowed in accordance with international standards and within certain limits .
Research should only be permitted for high-level objectives , where fundamental
Claudia Wiesemann
Medical ethicists , medical historian and head of the Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine at Goettingen University / Germany . She is currently working on the ethics of reproductive technology , the moral status of the child and child rights in medicine
and is interested in bioethics and the life course .
Image : Philip Bartz | Leopoldina
litate informed public discourse . This level of legal reform would give German scientists the opportunity to participate in international research projects in this field .
The new regulatory framework should also take into account current and unfolding scientific developments , such as the creation of embryo-like structures (“ embryoids ”) or embryos created from gametes produced in vitro . To enable new developments to be responded to , statutory review and reporting periods should also be put in place .
* Jochen Taupitz is one of two spokespersons for the academies ’ working group “ Design of contemporary embryo protection in Germany ”; Claudia Wiesemann is one of the group ’ s members .
Joint Statement „ Neubewertung des Schutzes von In-vitro- Embryonen in Deutschland “ ( German only )