German Ethics Council's Opinion: Intervening in the Human Germline
| Páginas | 273-276 |
Revista de Derecho y Genoma Humano. Genética, Biotecnología y Medicina Avanzada
Núm. 50, Enero-Junio 2019, Editorial Dykinson, ISSN 1134-7198
© G.I. Cátedra de Derecho y Genoma Humano, Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU
Rev Der Gen H 50/2019: 273-276 273
Documentos / Documents
German Ethics Council’s Opinion:
Intervening in the Human Germline
Recommendations and decision paths
This Opinion has set itself the task of reconstructing and assessing the
main facets and arguments of the complex debate surrounding the ethical
evaluation of germline interventions. It seeks to present these arguments in
a comprehensible manner and make them accessible to public and interna-
tional debate. There have been repeated calls for this debate, not least by
the German Ethics Council itself. To this end, the main paths on the road to
conceivable decisions on basic and preclinical research on the one hand and
clinical applications on the other are depicted in a decision tree. With this
tree it is possible to illustrate at which points decision paths take different
forks in the road, i.e. where ethical concepts are interpreted differently and
can thus be used to justify differing conclusions about what the next steps
should be. An understanding of these main forks in the argumentation helps
to throw light on the different possible positions and on the ensuing conse-
quences in a clear and transparent manner.
However, prior to this, a number of conclusions are presented that have
been shown to be capable of achieving a consensus in the German Ethics
Council. They can be seen as overarching recommendations irrespective of
how the possible use of germline interventions is evaluated overall (and, per-
haps, controversially).
Overarching conclusions and recommendations
1. The ethical analysis does not lead to any categorical inviolability of the
human germline.
2. The assessment of the permissibility of germline interventions should
not be reduced to a mere risk and opportunity analysis. Rather, it should be
based on the ethical concepts of human dignity, protection of life and integ-
rity, freedom, non-maleficence and beneficence, naturalness, justice,
solidarity and responsibility.
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