_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Germany ________________
Deadly experiments again?
Legislators approve embryo research
On February 1, the German parliament voted for the first time since the Nazi era to authorize deadly experimentation on human beings—in this case, human embryos. In a close vote ending months of heated debate, 340 of 618 deputies voted to allow importation of human embryo stem cells for research. A motion to allow eventual production of embryonic stem cells in Germany was rejected with only 106 votes in favor.
German law still forbids the destructive use of human embryos in Germany, but the new law encourages that destruction in other countries in order to service the German market for embryonic stem cells.
Government leaders were split on the measure with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in favor of the imports and President Johannes Rau and Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin against. Catholic and Lutheran leaders issued a joint statement lamenting that the “right to life and the unlimited protection of human life from the moment of conception are no longer assured.” However, they urged politicians to ensure “this decision doesn’t burst the dam.” Earlier in the debate the Church leaders accused politicians who favor embryonic stem cell research of approving “the killing of little human beings in order to save bigger ones.”