ABSTRACT

The possibility of pathogenicity has been seriously considered by responsible and knowledgeable scientists, as well as by individuals more broadly concerned with protection of the environment. Thus, whereas the first concern was simple protection of the public health, the latter two seek abridgement of the freedom of scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry has challenged the dogma of an authoritarian world for the last 400 years; it has freed men's minds as it eased their toil. For scientists, experimental research is an inseparable aspect of free scientific inquiry. The objective of some who have proposed the regulation of recombinant DNA research is to use the power of Government for the suppression of ideas that may otherwise flow from such research. The financial cost of overly cautious containment and enforcement, the delay in achieving benefits and the penalties incurred by restricting freedom of inquiry are real risks to be considered in setting up regulations.