Problems of political representation in the field of Biopolitics: Parliamentary decision and popular preferences on Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Kai Arzheimer
• Subject Area: Political Science ; Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2016 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 284112190

In 2011, the German parliament decided to grant couples facing high genetic risks an exemption from the blanket ban on Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). But even these new rules are very restrictive compared to the regulation of PGD in many other European countries. At the same time, there is some scattered evidence that the general public holds much more liberal preferences than lawmakers. This presumptive representation gap is significant, because the already large medical and commercial potential of PGD is rapidly growing further, while regulations seems unable to keep up with the fast pace of innovation in this field. The aim of this project is to assess the size and substantive relevance of the representation gap by surveying the general population on their preferences on PGD and related bioethical issues. On the one hand, the presumptive gap could simply be the consequence of a lack of information and deliberation on behalf of the citizenry. On the other hand, it is possible that ordinary citizens hold different opinions, beliefs, and preferences, which result in a demand for regulation that is more liberal than the options debated in parliament. To test these hypotheses, the survey will implement an experimental design:a) Support for further liberalisation will be probed in a randomly selected subgroup of respondents b) Both subgroups will then be confronted with a sample of the arguments that were raised during the parliamentary debates to see if they can be convinced to support the current legislation.Thus, it will be possible to assess how problematic any normative discrepancies between citizens and their representatives really are.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Albert Weale