History

History

The founding of the German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences (DRZE) on 1 January, 1999 was a milestone in the development of bioethics research in Germany. This brief information explains the context, aims, concept and structure of the centre.

The context for the founding of the DRZE

In a pluralistic society the ethical and legal debate caused by recent developments in the life sciences and their application in medicine and biotechnology can be expected to be a complex one. The new possibilities of intervention and treatment require careful evaluation.

Several disciplines contribute relevant considerations to the process of opinion and judgment formation within our society. Thus the interdisciplinary cooperation of researchers from the sciences, medicine, the law, philosphy, theology and the social sciences has become indispensable.
At the same time, global research and its application necessitate an international dialogue. Finally, the speed of innovation in this area requires early consideration of the ethical, legal and social issues that arise.

An adequate culture of judgment formation commensurate with the complexity of the process described above can only develop if those involved in it have access to reliable, comprehensive and current information.

Accordingly, on 23 April, 1997 the Federal Minister for Education, Science, Research and Technology recommended to the Council for Research, Technology and Innovation reporting to the Federal Chancellor to implement measures to foster bioethical reflection and debate.

In the context of his statement on the cloning of humans the minister then announced on 29 April, 1997 an initiative to strengthen ethical reflection in German research. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) held a symposium about "Current requirements for bioethics research" on 12 December 1997, and about the same time launched an invitation to submit preliminary ideas for a "bioethics reference centre".

On 5 February, 1998 the Federal Government published guidelines for the funding of such a centre. The guidelines stipulated

• that it should maintain a central collection and access point for relevant information
• that it should be linked to an established research institution in the area of bioethics
• that it should cooperate internationally with other database providers.

The design concept for the DRZE

The design concept for the DRZE, prepared by the Institute for Science and Ethics (IWE), Bonn in response to the funding guidelines, is oriented on the US National Reference Centre for Bioethics Literature, which has been working successfully for more than 25 years. Accordingly, the DRZE is overseen by a directorate, supported by an international and interdisciplinary advisory council.

A DFG-sponsored international group of referees supported that concept and application for the reference centre; its decision was announced on 15 June, 1998. Subsequently, the University of Bonn and the Institute for Science and Ethics were given the task of setting up the centre. On 25 August, 1998 the BMBF announced that it would make available the necessary funding for a period of five years beginning on 1 January, 1999.