The First Amendment and scientific freedom in the era of bioterrorism

The events of 9/11 have raised awareness that certain scientific research in the public domain may aid terrorists in their quest to develop biological weapons, and there is a legitimate cause for concern in rare cases. Proposed executive branch responses are consistent in their approach to the problem: restrain the offending research by restricting public access to it in some form or another. This paper examines some of the history of the United States (U.S.) government's restrictions on scientific communication and the protection that the First Amendment affords scientists against such restrictions. It focuses in particular on biological science, which has in recent years come under increased scrutiny due to fears of "bioterrorism." It concludes that science needs to be vigilant against government encroachment, but also needs to become the first line of defense in preventing dissemination of potentially dangerous research data. Should the exercise of prior restraint against biological research become necessary, the guidelines developed at the 2002 Monterey workshop provide a useful framework for determining what biological research might cause "direct, immediate, and irreparable" harm to national security under the New York Times Co. v. United States precedent.