Unesco establishes ethics for genetic engineering
A codex for science and politics puts human dignity first. However, the negotiated declaration is not binding. According to UNESCO, human cloning should be banned worldwide. Respect for the individual must also come first in genetic engineering, stressed Noelle Lenoir, President of the Bioethics Committee, today at the presentation of the "General Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights" in Paris. However, the code for science and politics only has a moral obligation.
"The declaration prescribes an ethical framework for everything to do with genetic engineering. This ranges from gene therapy to genetic testing to genetic fingerprinting,” Ms Lenoir explained. The code had been hotly debated for four years at expert, ministerial and finally government level. For example, the German delegation wanted a more restrictive draft for the protection of embryos. Experimenting with embryos from in vitro fertilization is strictly forbidden in Germany, but permitted in countries like Great Britain.
The declaration is not intended to be a catalog of prohibitions, but to draw moral boundaries that apply worldwide. However, Article 11 prohibits "practices incompatible with human dignity, such as human reproduction by cloning". However, interventions in the human genome are not generally prohibited, but are subject to a strict assessment of the benefits and risks. "It's not about protecting the integrity of the genome," Lenoir commented, "because there is no such thing as a closed genome legacy anyway." At the same time, anyone who suffers direct damage as a result of genetic interventions should receive compensation.
