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The President’s Council on Bioethics is no more. With a one-day notice,
the members were told in a letter from the President that their
services were no longer required. Pack up, get out. Forget the fact
that they had a couple of interesting reports coming out soon, one more
meeting, and that the Council’s tenure would expire come this September.
Peter Lawler, member of the now-defunct Council, notes that he is
reassured when the letter states that “President Obama recognizes the
value of having a commission composed of experts on bioethical issues
to provide objective and non-ideological advice to his Administration.”
Maybe it’s because the President wants to change to bioethics. Maybe
it’s because he’s smarting a bit because, when he issued his new
executive order opening the door to more human embryo research and
cloning, 10 of the 18 current Council members criticized his new
policy. But a more likely reason is that he needs a philosophical,
well-stacked bioethics rubber stamp.
The National Institutes of Health, as directed by the President, is
crafting new guidelines for federal funding of human embryonic stem
cell research. After a short period soliciting comments on their
proposed guidelines, they are scheduled to release the final guidelines
no later than July 7. It would be embarrassing to have another round of
criticism from an existing “President’s Council.” Better to show them
the door.
The proposed guidelines on human embryonic stem cell research are more
limited than what the President proposed. NIH draws the line at using
“excess” embryos from fertility clinics, though they note that the
guidelines can be changed whenever they want. But President Obama
called for much more, including cloning of embryos for experiments. A
number of scientists have chafed and whined at the proposed NIH limits
on embryo creation and destruction.
Dr. Alta Charo, an ethicist at the University of Wisconsin and member
of the Obama transition team, said that a new commission should focus
on helping the government form ethically defensible policy.
Translation: rubber stamp.
Look for a new commission soon with members that will be ideologically
in line with the White House, Charo to be a member, and the new
commission swiftly to consider (and to agree with the President) the
issue of stem cells, cloning, and embryo experiments.
The now-former President’s Council on Bioethics was constituted in
2001, and chaired first by Leon Kass and then Ed Pellegrino. It’s
mandate was “Advising the President on ethical issues related to
advances in biomedical science and technology.” Pellegrino is quoted on
the current site: “To advance human good and avoid harm, biotechnology
must be used within ethical constraints. It is the task of bioethics to
help society develop those constraints and bioethics, therefore, must
be of concern to all of us.” You might want to take a look at their accomplishments before
their website is erased.
Also read: Obama "Stacked Deck” Bioethics Committee To
Push Radical Agenda by Wesley Smith
Contact: David Prentice
Source: FRC Blog
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Date: June 19, 2009
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The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in
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coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of
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human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that
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