Abstract
If the question were raised, whether the German Basic Law “prohibits” cloning, my answer could be rather short. But this is not the case. The constitution as the basic law of a state does not normally prohibit acts of individual citizens. However, the assertion that the German Basic Law does not prohibit cloning has to be qualified: Human Cloning is prohibited by an ordinary law — § 6 of the Act for Protection of Embryos1 — and can be punished by imprisonment up to 5 years.
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References
Reprinted in the annex of this volume, under V 20.
The Constitutional Court postulates an “order of values” (Wertordnung): BVerfGE 5, 85, 204 et seq.; 6, 55, 72; 7, 198, 204 et seq.; 21, 362, 371 et seq.; 49, 89, 141. See H. Goerlich, Wertordnung und Grundgesetz (1973).
Cf. H. Dreier, in idem (ed.), Grundgesetz-Kommentar, Vol. I (1996), Art. 1 I, No. 7–12; M. Herdegen, in Maunz/Dürig, Grundgesetz, Vol. I, Art. 1, No. 7–12; C. Starck, in v. Mangoldt/Klein/Starck, Bonner Grundgesetz-Kommentar, Vol. I (4th ed., 1999), Art. 1, No. 3–8.
Cf. J. Ipsen, Staatsrecht II: Grundrechte (7th ed., 2004), No. 45 et seq.; id., Gesetzliche Einwirkungen auf grundrechtlich geschützte Rechtsgüter, JZ 1997, 473 et seq.
Ipsen, Staatsrecht II, supra note 4, No. 89 et seq.
See Dreier, supra note 3, No. 47 et seq.; W. Heun, Embryonenforschung und Verfassung — Lebensrecht und Menschenwürde der Embryos, JZ 2002, 523;
E. Hilgendorf, Klonverbot und Menschenwürde — Vom Homo sapiens zum Homo xerox? Überlegungen zu § 6 Embryonenschutzgesetz, Festschrift H. Maurer (2001), 1157;
H. Hofmann, Die versprochene Menschenwürde, AöR 118 (1993), 376; Ipsen, Staatsrecht II, supra note 4, No. 213; id., Der “verfassungsrechtliche Status” des Embryos in vitro, JZ 2001, 989 et seq.;
R. Merkel, Forschungsobjekt Embryo (2002), 110;
E. Schmidt-Jortzig, Systematische Bedingungen der Garantie unbedingten Schutzes der Menschenwürde in Art. 1 GG, DÖV 2001, 931 et seq.;
H. Sendler, Menschenwürde, PID und Schwangerschaftsabbruch, NJW 2001, 2148, 2150; the “dominant opinion” postulates also the embryo as a bearer of Human Dignity: see BVerfGE 39, 1, 41; 88, 203, 251;
W. Höfling, in Sachs (ed.), Grundgesetz-Kommentar (3rd ed., 2002), Art. 1, No. 51;
H.D. Jarass/B. Pieroth, Grundgesetz-Kommentar (6th ed., 2002), Art. 1, No. 6;
P. Kunig, in v. Münch/Kunig (eds.), Grundgesetz-Kommentar, Vol. 1 (5th ed., 2000), Art. 1, No. 14.
This is an inconsistency of the “dominant opinion”, especially of the Constitutional Court: Human Dignity is also claimed for prenatal life during the first three months of pregnancy when its development is at its mothers discretion.
Cf. Heun, supra note 6, 523 (“pre-embryo”); Ipsen, supra note 6, 990 et seq.; Merkel, Forschungsobjekt Embryo, supra note 6, 110 et passim.
BVerfGE 88, 203, 255.
See Merkel, Forschungsobjekt Embryo, supra note 6, 75 et seq.
Heun, supra note 6, 523, No. 100 qualifies this position as “ridiculous”.
See Ipsen, Staatsrecht II, supra note 4, No. 214.
Cf. Dreier, supra note 3, No. 52 et seq.
This dogmatic figure was created by the Constitutional Court in the second abortion-decision. See BVerfGE 88, 203, 254.
Cf. Ipsen, supra note 6, 993.
See BVerfGE 88, 203, 254; Ipsen, Staatsrecht II, supra note 4, No. 93 et seq.
See Merkel, Forschungsobjekt Embryo, supra note 6, 264 et seq.; Dreier, supra note 3, No. 59.
See the contribution of R. Wolfrum/S. Vöneky in this volume.
Cf. Dreier, supra note 3, No. 37 et seq.
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Ipsen, J. (2004). Does the German Basic Law Protect against Human Cloning?. In: Vöneky, S., Wolfrum, R. (eds) Human Dignity and Human Cloning. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-6174-1_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-6174-1_8
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