God, Galileo, and Government: Toward Constitutional Protection for Scientific Inquiry

This article examines the applicability of existing constitutional doctrine to state action which prohibits, burdens, or declines to fund scientific research, not because of deficiencies in its research design, the credentials of the investigator, safety or health hazards, or projected cost-benefit balance of the results, but because the state considers the area of inquiry itself inappropriate or suspect. This article tenders and examines the thesis that governmental decisions to regulate scientific inquiry because of the nature of the knowledge likely to result implicate highly protected constitutional values, particularly those of the first amendment, thereby invoking the stringent model of judicial review applicable to such cases.