Press Releases

At the public evening event "Bioethics Forum" on 19 February 2020, the German Ethics Council will discuss the ethical aspects of an appropriate social and medical approach to transgender identity in children and adolescents.

On Wednesday, 23 October 2019, the autumn conference of the German Ethics Council took place at the University of Göttingen on the topic "Thinking – Believing – Knowing: Climate Change and the Ethics of Science".

In its Opinion “Vaccination as a duty?”, published today in Berlin, the German Ethics Council substantiates a general moral duty to have oneself and one’s children vaccinated against measles. It recommends the introduction of mandatory vaccination for occupational groups with special responsibilities, not, however, for all adults or children.

On Wednesday, 26 June 2019, the annual meeting of the German Ethics Council will take place in Berlin, more than 600 participants are expected. The conference can also be followed via video livestream.

Yesterday (Thursday), the German Ethics Council held its ninth Parliamentary Evening in Berlin. At the beginning of this event, the Chair of the Council, Peter Dabrock, handed over the Annual Report 2018 to the President of the Bundestag, Wolfgang Schäuble.

Last year, the birth of the first genetically modified babies shook the world. The German Ethics Council now presents a comprehensive ethical investigation into possible interventions in the genome of human embryos or germ cells. The Council does not deem the human germline to be inviolable. It does, however, consider germline interventions to be ethically irresponsible at the present time because of the associated incalculable risks. The Council, therefore, calls for an application moratorium and recommends that the Federal Government and the Bundestag work towards a binding international agreement.