ABSTRACT
In the year 2001, current medical ethical questions had the German public on tenterhooks in a manner almost unprecedented. The role of politics, and in particular the German Parliament, as an important instrument in the guidance of fundamental medical ethical issues was made very transparent. Whatever one’s opinion of the final result, the debate about the permissibility of stem cell research was a successful and encouraging example of the shaping of public opinion, of open discussion and of the path towards democratic policy.
