The President's Council on Bioethics (PCBE)
was a group of individuals appointed by United
States President George W. Bush to advise
his administration on bioethics.
Established on November 28, 2001, by Executive
Order 13237, the Council was directed to "advise
the President on bioethical issues that may
emerge as a consequence of advances in biomedical
science and technology".
It succeeded and largely replaced the National
Bioethics Advisory Commission, appointed by
President Bill Clinton in 1996, which expired
in 2001.
The members of the council were appointed
directly by the President; the President also
chose the chairperson of the Council (last
appointed Chair was Edmund D. Pellegrino).
Council members, totaling no more than 18,
were appointed for a two-year term, after
which time they could be reappointed by the
President.
Individuals appointed could not be officers
or employees of the federal government.
Executive Order 13237 was renewed in 2003,
2005 and again in 2007.
== Expiration and replacement ==
In June 2009, President Barack Obama's administration
informed members of the Council that their
services were no longer needed.
Through a spokesperson, Obama made clear that
he intended to replace the committee with
a body that "offers practical policy options"
rather than philosophical guidance.Executive
Order 13521 of November 24, 2009 superseded
the previous council by establishing the Presidential
Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
On Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009, Obama named Amy
Gutmann, the president of the University of
Pennsylvania, to chair his new advisory panel
on bioethics.
James W. Wagner, the president of Emory University,
was appointed vice chairperson.
== Criticism ==
Critics have questioned the motives and goals
of the PCBE.
Elizabeth Blackburn, who was dismissed from
the Commission, co-authored an article, citing
examples published by other members, suggesting
that it was set up to justify President Bush's
positions on stem cell research and abortion,
writing "...our concern is that some of their
contents... may have ended up distorting the
potential of biomedical research and the motivation
of some of its researchers."Bioethicist Leslie
A. Meltzer accused the Council of wrapping
"political and religious agendas in the guise
of dignity," and described them as largely
Christian-affiliated neoconservatives; philosophers
and political scientists rather than bench
scientists.
Meltzer said that Council members mischaracterized
the positions of their opponents and used
invective rather than addressing the merits
of the arguments.The response to President
Obama's decision to disband the Council drew
both criticism and praise.
Colleen Carroll Campbell, a former speechwriter
for President Bush and a member of the conservative
advocacy group Ethics and Public Policy Center
predicted that "Obama's desire to see his
policies backed by expert 'consensus' more
likely will be realized with a new commission
composed of like-minded political liberals
steeped in utilitarianism than with the brainy,
diverse and unpredictable crew that populated
the now-defunct council."
In contrast, Jacob M. Appel of New York's
Mount Sinai Hospital wrote that "the panel
itself, far from being an incubator of intellectual
ferment, had evolved into a publicly funded
right-wing think tank with a handful of token
moderates for window dressing" and argued
that "Obama was wise to scrap the entire panel
and to start over."
== Members and staff ==
=== Chairmen ===
Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D. - chairman (2005–2008)
Leon R. Kass, M.D., Ph.D. - chairman (2001–2005)
=== Members ===
=== Former Council staff ===
F. Daniel Davis, Ph.D. - executive director
(2005–2009)
Yuval Levin - executive director (2004–2005)
Dean Frazier Clancy - executive director (2001–2004)
O. Carter Snead - general counsel (2003–2005)
Richard Roblin, Ph.D. - scientific director
(2001–2005), acting executive director (2005)
== Reports and publications ==
Taking Care: Ethical Caregiving in Our Aging
Society (2005)
White Paper: Alternative Sources of Human
Pluripotent Stem Cells (2005)
Reproduction and Responsibility: The Regulation
of New Biotechnologies (2004)
Monitoring Stem Cell Research (2004)
Being Human: Readings from the President's
Council on Bioethics (2003)
Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit
of Happiness (2003)
Human Cloning and Human Dignity (2002)
== See also ==
Bioethics
Biotechnology
Cloning
Comité consultatif national d'éthique, a
French governmental advisory council on bioethics
issues created by François Mitterrand in
1983
Eugenics
President's Commission for the Study of Ethical
Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral
Research (U.S. 1978)
Stem-cell research
