Biotechnology and Economy: An ethical conflict of interest?

Abstract

When confronting the issues related to developments in Biotechnology, we must repeatedly ask ourselves anew what can and cannot be justified in an ethical sense. This is because radically new ethical questions seem to arise through innovative techniques such as stem cell research or GMOs as well as in the so-called “economic area”. This paper focuses more on society than on economy, because the term “economic area” is (from my point of view) a synonym for the perception of society. The layperson often has problems in understand what has happened when confronting new technologies and knowledge produced through industrial finance. The example discussed here is German stem cell research.