This release is available in German.
The President of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Professor Matthias Kleiner, commented on the decision by the German Federal Parliament on the Stem Cell Act:
“The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is pleased and grateful for the decision taken by Parliament. We are especially grateful to those members of Parliament who contributed towards the critical debate of the issue.
The decision taken to move the qualifying date for importing human embryonic stem cell lines is a good and important step forwards for German science and for German stem cell researchers. They will take advantage of the new possibilities with a strong sense of responsibility and according to their strict ethical principles.
First and foremost, we are very glad that the threat of legal sanctions that has existed up to now has been lifted. This was a particularly serious deterrent for young researchers wanting to go abroad.
All in all, the debate on the amendment of the Stem Cell Act is another good example of constructive dialogue between the scientific community and politics. The outcome of today’s debate is also firm evidence of the confidence in the scientific community and its ability to argue its case.”
For more information, please contact:
Marco Finetti
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Press and Public Relations
D-53170 Bonn
Germany
Tel. +49 228 885-2230
Mobile phone: +49 151 10853827
Fax +49 228 885-2180
Marco.Finetti@dfg.de
http://www.dfg.de