Marco Cappato at the ESTOOLS Public Scientific Symposium – “Stem Cell Science, Ethics & Communications�? in Rome

Marco Cappato took part in the last ESTOOLS Public Scientific Symposium on “Stem Cell Science, Ethics & Communications�? held in Rome last May 27. Marco Cappato was asked to make a commentary and take-home messages of the SESSION 5: Science, law and ethics. On that occasion he launched a transnational campaign for the next European legislation to defend freedom of scientific research, namely research on human embryonic stem cells, including the therapeutic cloning technique. The scientific and patient community was alerted that “the 7th Framework Program was a compromise solution. The big mistake would be thinking that the compromise is done", Marco Cappato said. But "this is not a permanent result; this is something that is already under attack now and it will be under attack in the next legislation because the 7th FP is until 2013 so the legislation that is starting in three weeks will decide on the rules for the next program�?. ESTOOLS is the main European consortium for the research on human embryonic stem cells, financed by the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and involving partners coming from several countries of the European Research Area (including Israel). The symposium was the last public event at the end of the consortium three-day annual meeting aimed at evaluating and disseminating project results. Session 5 was chaired by the President of the European Group on Ethics, Goran Hermeren. The audio recording of this session is available on Radio Radicale website. Please find enclosed the transcription of Marco Cappato's speech in English (original version) and its Italian translation.