[Politics: which contribution can ethical expertise give biopolitical decisions?]

Research in the life sciences is developing at a rapid pace, has profound implications in terms of its effects on human nature and touches upon the self-conceptions of both the individual and society. In order to determine how this research and its application in all phases of human life should be assessed on the moral level, and whether it should be subject to regulation, the involvement of all disciplines--in the natural sciences, medicine, philosophy, law and the social sciences--that can contribute knowledge for the purpose of guidance is indispensable. Political decisions should be preceded by a wide-ranging debate within society encompassing all relevant groups and the media. Alongside discourse confined to specialists and their forums, a particular part can be played by the institution of ethics committees with an interdisciplinary, pluralistic membership. Their work can contribute to the stimulation of social debate and to ensuring that it is conducted on a suitably high level. In our knowledge society, Government and Parliament lack the information necessary to guide their decisions, and therefore require external expertise to provide a solid foundation for them. In the field of bioethics, however, the relationship between advisory activity and parliamentary decision-making proves is not without problems, because, in addition to rational criteria and party-political considerations, personal moral judgements are not only unavoidable but also legitimate, though they are not always made transparent.