Federal Register — and a fully realized public discourse. 
A fully realized public discussion, such as now exists 
for the siting of nuclear power plants and for abortion, 
requires that people have a better understanding of: 1) what 
human gene therapy would involve and, 2) how it might affect 
them in their own lives. Look for a moment at the response of 
the citizens of Monterey County to a proposed release of a 
genetically engineered organism into their community. If the 
local government and community had been previously notified 
and involved in a discourse or decision about the release, 
would the same series of events have occurred? 
Unlike our example in Monterey County, the nuclear debate 
and the abortion controversy have been characterized by a more 
democratic process. In the case of human germ-line therapy, 
this process would involve: 1) more media attention, 2) 
readable documents that people can understand and talk about 
— and here we commend the efforts of the Working Group to 
make a readable guide to the Points to Consider — 3) ways to 
disseminate the information, and 4) forums in which people are 
motivated to express their opinion, for example, by writing to 
their representative in Congress. 
If a time comes when there is a broad social consensus to 
use germ line therapy, after a debate such as the one I have 
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