He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the 200 m and 400 m individual medley and finished in sixth place in the latter event.

He also studied law, philosophy and literature at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he passed his state examination.

[2] He wrote a number of books and other publications discussing neuroethics, bioethics and embryonic stem cell manipulations.

Since April 2008, he has been a member of The Hinxton Group: An International Consortium on Stem Cells, Ethics and Law, which is based in Hinxton, UK, and Baltimore, USA.

[2] He is a member of the advisory boards of the Institute for Secular Law[4] and the Giordano Bruno Foundation.