Strange bedfellows: the Bundestag’s free vote on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) reveals how Germany’s restrictive bioethics legislation is shaped by a Christian Democratic/New Left issue-coalition

Abstract

Germany’s bioethical legislation presents a puzzle: given structural factors, the country should be at the forefront of reproductive medicine, but its embryology regime remains one of the strictest in Western Europe. Past research has linked this fact to an unusual coalition of Christian and New Left groups, which both draw a connection from modern embryology to eugenics under the Nazis. In this article, the workings of this alleged alliance are demonstrated at the micro-level for the first time. The behaviour of individual MPs in a crucial free vote on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is modelled using data on their political, sectoral and religious affiliations. Identifying as a Catholic and membership in Christian organisations are strong predictors of resistance to PGD. Even more importantly, net of religious and professional ties, affiliation with either the Christian Democrats or the left-libertarian Green party is closely linked to restrictive bioethical preferences. The modest liberalisation in 2011 was contingent on external factors and the overwhelming support of the historically unusually large FDP delegation. With the FDP no longer represented in parliament and the Christian Democratic/New Left issue coalition even stronger than before, further liberalisation is unlikely.