This is true, although I think the number of researchers who would be happy to work on something illegally would be quite a lot lower than those happy to work on something legally.
A similar effect I’m more worried about is pushing the research over to less safety-conscious regimes. But I’m not certain about the size of this effect; good regulation in one country is often copied, and this is an area where international agreements might be possible (and international law might provide some support, although it is untested: see pages 113-122 of this report in a geoengineering context).
This is true, although I think the number of researchers who would be happy to work on something illegally would be quite a lot lower than those happy to work on something legally.
A similar effect I’m more worried about is pushing the research over to less safety-conscious regimes. But I’m not certain about the size of this effect; good regulation in one country is often copied, and this is an area where international agreements might be possible (and international law might provide some support, although it is untested: see pages 113-122 of this report in a geoengineering context).