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Legal Aspects of Research with Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2017

Jochen Taupitz
Jochen Taupitz*
Affiliation:
Institute for German, European and International Medical Law, Public Health Law and Bioethics of the Universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim, Schloss, D-68131 Mannheim, German. E-mail: taupitz@jura.uni-mannheim.de
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Abstract

Research with human embryonic stem cells (HESC) is very much disputed from an ethical point of view as it requires the destruction of the embryo to derive the stem cells. The legal situation in Europe is heterogeneous. This article gives an overview of the current debate on this topic by outlining the international regulations and the national legislation in the European Union. It is shown that the different legal positions are like an in vivo experiment for contrasting solutions. Furthermore, the legal situation in Germany is examined in more detail and with it the effectiveness and the constitutionality of the requirements.

Type
Erasmus Lecture
Information
European Review , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , February 2017 , pp. 121 - 130
Copyright
© Academia Europaea 2017 

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