Memories of Nazi Past Stirred by Debates Over Embryo Research and Euthanasia.(Brief Article)

The German government is in the midst of a remarkable ongoing public debate over proposals to eliminate prohibitions against lethal research on human embryonic stem cells. A monumentally important debate in any context, the fierce discussion is made even more intense in Germany because "the memory of horrific human experiments practiced by the Third Reich remains etched in the public conscience," according to the Wall Street Journal.

The parliamentary debate in late May came only a few weeks after a wave of public revulsion in Germany at news that the Netherlands was about to formally legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. President Johannes Rau brought the two strands together when he said in a speech, "Eugenics, euthanasia and selection - - these are terms that, in Germany, are bound up with bad memories."

Proponents alternately wave the flag of compassion - - lethally extracting stem cells from human embryos may someday "cure" a disease, they say - - and issue ominous warnings that Germany will lose out in the fast-growing biotechnology industry.

Their target is a 1990 law that bans experiments on embryonic stem cells and preimplantation diagnosis - - analyzing embryos created from in vitro fertilization procedures for possible "defects" before implanting the human embryo into a woman's womb.

While German Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder, described as a "pragmatist," says in one breath the law should remain unchanged "for now," in the next he says such research could be positive "if it helped scientific progress and led to lives being saved," according to the New York Times. "Our moral responsibility," Schroder said, "is also to take care of our jobs and well being."

But Schroeder must tread carefully for, as the Times put it, such debates "are particularly sensitive in Germany because of the extensive euthanasia program and other Nazi medical experiments aimed at fashioning an unblemished master Aryan race."

A nationwide poll conducted for the newspaper Die Welt in late May found that 70% felt ethical concerns outweighed the benefits of new jobs and higher living standards.