24 • Impacts of Applied Genetics— Micro-Organisms, Plants, and Animals 
or it could (Micourage the breeding of agricul- 
turally important animals by granting patent 
i-igbts to brcHulers of new and distinct breeds. In 
the interest of comprehensiveness and uniform- 
ity, one statute could cover plants and all other 
organisms that Congress desires to be patent- 
able. 
Genetics and society 
FINDINGS 
Continued advances in science and technol- 
ogy are beginning to provide choices that strain 
human value systems in areas where previously 
no choice was possible. Existing ethical and 
moral systems do not provide clear guidelines 
and directions for those choices. New programs, 
both in public institutions and in the popular 
media, have been established to explore the 
relationships among science, technology, socie- 
ty, and \ alue systems, but more work needs to 
he done. 
Genetics— and other areas of the biological 
sciences— have in common a much closer rela- 
tionship to certain ethical questions than do 
most advances in the physical sciences or 
engineering. The increasing control over the 
Issues and Options 
Issue; How should the public he in- 
volved In determining policy re- 
lated to new applications of ge- 
netics? 
Because public demands for involvement are 
unlikely to diminish, ways to accommodate 
these demands must be considered. 
OPTIONS: 
A. Congress could specify that public opinion 
must be sought in formulating all major pol- 
icies concerning new applications of genetics, 
including decisions on the funding of specific 
research projects. A "Public Participation 
Statement" could be mandated for all such 
decisions. 
B. Congress could maintain the status quo, allow- 
characteristics of organisms and the potential 
for altering inheritance in a directed fashion 
raise again questions about the relationship of 
humans to each other and to other living things. 
People respond in different ways to this poten- 
tial; some see it (like many predecessor develop- 
ments in science) as a challenging opportunity, 
others as a threat, and still others respond with 
vague unease. Although many people cannot ar- 
ticulate fully the basis for their concern, ethical, 
moral, and religious reasons are often cited. 
The public’s increasing concern about the ad- 
vance of science and impacts of technology has 
led to demands for greater participation in deci- 
sions concerned with scientific and technologi- 
cal issues, not only in the United States but 
throughout the world. The demands imply new 
challenges to systems of representative govern- 
ment. In every Western country, new mecha- 
nisms have been devised for increasing citizen 
participation. 
The public has already become in\’ol\ed in 
decisionmaking with regard to genetics. As the 
science develops, additional issues in which the 
public will demand involvement can he antici- 
pated for the years ahead. The question then be- 
comes one of how best to invoke the public in 
decisionmaking. 
ing the public to participate only when it 
decides to do so on its own initiative. 
If option A were followed, there would h(> no 
cause for claiming that public involvenu'iit was 
inadequate (as occurred after the first set of 
Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Reseai'ch was 
promulgated). Option A poses certain [)i’ohlems: 
How to identify a major {)olicy and at what stage 
public involvement would be re(|uir(‘d. Should 
it take place only when technological de\(>lop- 
ment and application are imminent, or at th(> 
basic research stage? 
Option B would he less cumbersome to effect 
It would permit the estahlishiiKMit of ad hoc 
mechanisms when necessarv. 
— Genetics and Society 
