The “Me Molecule”

Abstract

The cells, cell lines, embryos, and gametes that are harvested, isolated, purified, fertilized, frozen, stored, and defrosted, tested, diagnosed, examined and even “edited” in laboratories. As a consequence of this multiple form of intervention human cells and molecules have recently become the subject of vibrant political and ethical debates and targets of legal policymaking. In this scientific and political discourse a new phenomenon has emerged, which was coined as ‘molecularization’ by Nikolas Rose in his book, The Politics of Life Itself. For Rose, molecularization is one of the most important characteristics of contemporary biopolitics. When Foucault elaborated his ideas about biopolitics and subjectivity, he still focused on the body as a whole, and the biopolitical control over it, and not on the parts or fragments of the body (Lemke T. Biopolitics: an advanced introduction, New York University Press, New York, 2011). Today, however, not only scientists, but also regulators view humans more and more on the molecular level by developing special scientific terminology and legal norms in the fields of genetic research and testing, stem cell research, and even assisted reproduction. This phenomenon has appeared in several domains of biotechnology, which I will discuss by highlighting the consequences of this new scientific gaze. In this chapter, therefore, I would like to discuss the practical implications of molecularization, and explore how the new biopolitical thinking determines legal structures and public discussion in the light of the current advances in biotechnology. My goal is to incite a legal dogmatic dispute and to encourage a brainstorming that incorporates an element of criticism in the process of placing biological concepts in a new context. I will examine the relevance of molecularization in selected fields, such as genetic research, biotechnological inventions, sperm donation, mitochondrial donation and surrogacy.