Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-14-Speech-2-038"
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"en.20020514.4.2-038"2
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"Mr President, I cannot do other than congratulate Mr Caudron and lament the fact that this will be the last of the major reports he has drawn up in the European Parliament. His work on this report is indeed remarkable and it opens up great horizons in many areas of research.
I continue to hold a resolute position with regard to bioethical issues, on which I have to say – to you, Commissioner, and to my fellow Members – that I have nothing but doubts. I have been working on these issues for two years and I have nothing but doubts and only one certainty, which is the sacrosanct value of human dignity.
I suppose I believe in the institutions which are shaping the future, and the European Parliament is certainly a point of reference and not just for Europe. We must realise that something unforeseen is happening which radically changes the rules of the game. We must therefore assess the results of the increasingly rapid innovation, we must reflect on the way biotechnologies are advancing and what impact they could have on the very nature of the human race.
Biochemistry is only the beginning: in a future which is becoming increasingly imminent, we will have to adopt positions on the possibility of parents being able to alter the DNA of their embryos in order to provide their offspring with increasingly good genes. We will have to deal with the selection – for the purposes of genetic improvement – of dozens of embryos produced for that purpose. Cloning techniques will soon make it possible for individuals to produce copies of themselves, creating genetically identical twins which are capable of self-replicating, giving rise to a form of genetic immortality.
It is an inherent part of the nature of each of us to fight against death, pain and suffering, and science is interpreting this instinct perfectly. The possibility appears to be attractive at first sight, but do we really realise how radically our existence might change? Is the possibility of genetic improvement techniques being used by dominant classes to perpetuate their genetic superiority over weaker social classes really so far off?
I followed the long, anguished decision-making process on the Sixth Framework Programme closely; I witnessed a kind of resignation on the part of the Member States at their failure to come to an agreement on ethics. Aware of the difficulties of my colleagues themselves, I persisted with my amendment in order to send out a clear, consistent message. When I see companies springing up on the Internet offering to provide us with clones of ourselves at a high price, I realise that there is no limit to how bad things can get, but I also find in this a great incentive to persevere in the battle from which many – understandably disillusioned – people have already withdrawn."@en1
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