Press Releases

The German Ethics Council welcomes efforts to increase vaccination rates. However, in view of the current debate on mandatory measles vaccination, it criticises the illegitimate narrowing of the discussion to children, the insufficient consideration of the available data, and the vagueness of the concept of mandatory vaccination. It therefore advocates a comprehensive approach.

At a public hearing in Berlin on 21 February 2019, the German Ethics Council discussed with experts from the fields of virology, epidemiology and political science which regulatory measures for the improvement of vaccination rates are ethically and legally acceptable or reasonable. The results of this hearing will be incorporated into the Opinion “Vaccination as a duty?” that the Ethics Council is currently preparing.

On 28 November 2018, an orientation debate took place in the German Bundestag on whether an opt-out system should be established in future instead of the current opt-in system to improve the desolate situation in organ donation. Decreasing donor numbers and long waiting lists give rise to calls for fundamentally different approaches. But what are the ethical challenges raised by the possible new regulations for patients, relatives, medical staff and future donors? On Wednesday, 12 December, the German Ethics Council discussed the advantages and disadvantages of opt-out organ donation at a public evening event that was attended also by several members of the Bundestag.

Professor Dr. theol. Elisabeth Gräb-Schmidt is a new member of the German Ethics Council.

The birth of two genetically modified girls claimed on Monday, 26 November 2018, by the Chinese researcher Jiankui He by means of germline editing represents a serious violation of ethical obligations according to the view of the German Ethics Council.

In its Ad Hoc Recommendation published today, the German Ethics Council draws attention to the specific vulnerability of people with rare diseases. The Council calls for a number of measures to protect affected people from inadequate care. The goal must be the fair consideration of their needs in clinical research and healthcare.