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Societal scrutiny and dialogue
Life sciences and biotechnology have given rise to significant public attention
and debate. Public debate remains of central importance: promoting dialogue
among stakeholders and organising public debates will accompany and guide the
development of life sciences and biotechnology and ensure effective, credible
and responsible policies that are in harmony with societal values.
Dialogue in our democratic societies should be inclusive, comprehensive, well
informed, structured and it should take place at the local and national levels,
as well as internationally. Relevant public information is essential for meaningful
dialogue. It is therefore of key importance to support information and dialogue
to help the public and stakeholders better understand and appreciate these complex
technologies.
Without broad public acceptance and support, the development and use of life
sciences and biotechnology in Europe will be contentious and benefits will be
delayed and competitiveness will likely suffer.
Ethical Values
Our society should offer the necessary safeguards to ensure that the development
and application of life sciences and biotechnology take place respecting the
fundamental values of human life and dignity.
Europe needs to achieve a common understanding among all stakeholders and policy
makers and resolve any diverging views Europe is currently facing. If biotechnology
is to work for Europe, political leaders must make some tough choices with mechanisms
in place to handle the ethical dimension and to harness biotech’s potential
so that it meets the needs and expectations of EU citizens.
To this end EuropaBio
has developed a set of Core Ethical Values. All members of EuropaBio
share these Core Ethical Values.
EuropaBio's
core ethical values (October 1998) (| pdf - 12.1kb)
Ethics Working group
The Ethics group at EuropaBio is made up of representatives from among EuropaBio’s membership and it follows and contributes to the societal debate concerning the applications and development of biotechnology in all areas such as health, agriculture and industry.
chairman : Dr. Erik TAMBUYZER (Erik.Tambuyzer@genzyme.com)
secretary : Ms. Adeline FARRELLY (a.farrelly@europabio.org) |
Ethics
and Dialogue