ABSTRACT
Scientific inquiry has been suggested that scientists have a right to pursue knowledge and this right is of the same dignity as freedom of speech and of the press guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States. Pecedents are helpful in drawing the constitutional boundaries of scientific freedom. Surely a scientist has the freedom to think, to do calculations, to write, to speak, and to publish. Some scientists seem to believe that it is immoral or wrong if the government is really motivated by a fear that resulting scientific knowledge will be misused. To the extent experimentation could be constitutionally protected, freedom would vary inversely with the degree of perceived impact on persons and the environment. Scientists remain perfectly free to do scientific research if they can find the money elsewhere. A direct prohibition or restriction on scientific research may indeed represent an infringement of scientific freedom.
