4 
nisne. Certainly the public has the right to ensure that such microorgan i sire, 
if constructed, should not be released into the environment. Most would also 
agree that the public has the right to regulate under what conditions experiments 
with human subjects rrey be conducted. 
There is, in sumrrery, an ongoing vit^d connection between science and public 
policy. 
Dr. Maxine Singer recognized this before the Congressional Committee and said: 
■Scientists today recognize their responsibility to the public that 
supports scientific work in the expectation that the results will 
have a significant positive inpact on society. To describe the 
scientific comrunity of the late twentieth century otherwise is to 
ignore or misunderstand the evidence. Dispute over the best way to 
exercise that responsibility must not be confused with a negation of 
it. The scientific community has accepted the counsel of ethicists, 
philosophers, and representatives of the public who have long troubled 
to point out this responsibility. 
"Scientists adso accept the need to restrict certain laboratory 
practices in order to protect the safety and health of laboratory 
workers and the public. Further, we recognize the need to consider 
possible hazards before large scale activity is undertaken and before 
untoward events occur. But we differentiate between restrictions on 
hazardous or potenti^dly heizardous activities and restrictions on 
intellectual freedom. 
[ 611 ] 
