Less Philosophy, More Policy: Obama Disbands Council on Bioethics and Will Create New One

Last week, the White House sent letters to the members of the President’s Council on Bioethics informing them that their services were no longer needed. According to a report today from Nicholas Wade in The New York Times, a spokesperson said that the mandate of a new council would be to offer “practical policy options,” in contrast to the work of the current council, which SP advisory board member Alta Charo told Wade “seemed more like a public debating society.”

There have been six bioethics advisory panels since 1974, and President George W. Bush convened the current council in November of 2001, a few months after announcing limitations on federal support for embryonic stem cell research. (For more context, see our “Timeline: A Brief History of Stem Cell Research.”)

Shortly after President Obama rescinded those restrictions, 10 of the 18 members of the existing council (whose charter would have expired in September), issued a statement criticizing the new policy. They claimed the new policy mischaracterized the Bush rules, which it did not; they claimed the old policy was advancing research within ethical norms, despite the fact it slowed research; and argued that the new policy did not address reproductive cloning, despite the fact NIH was tasked with tackling that question as it drafted guidelines. (More on that statement here.)

Another administration source indicates that the President is reviewing options for a new council with a revised, policy-focused mandate, but there is currently no public word on a timeframe.

Tags: bioethics, stem cells

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