KATHLEEN PARKER: Pelosi on beginning of human life Aug 27, 2008
One may choose to believe that out of convenience or conscience, but the logic of the court was both self-contradictory and incorrect, according to Robert P. George, a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton and a member of the President's Council on Bioethics. By its ruling, says George, the court implicitly determined when life begins (against the fetus), while ignoring science that long before had determined the facts of human embryogenesis. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Personnel Announcement Jun 25, 2008
The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President's Council on Bioethics, for terms of two years. Floyd E. Bloom, of California; Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., of Maryland; Rebecca Susan Dresser, of Missouri; Nicholas Eberstadt, of the District of Columbia; Jean B. Elshtain, of Tennessee; Daniel Willett Foster, of Texas; Michael S. Gazzaniga, of Vermont; Robert Peter George, of New Jersey; Alfonso G. (White House News Releases)
ADRIAN APOLLO: Deaf don't need hearing devices to live fulfilling, exciting lives Apr 19, 2008
Yet amazingly, a search of cochlear implants on the Web site of the President's Council on Bioethics (http://bioethics. gov) returns zero hits. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
President and Mrs. Bush Honor Abraham Lincoln's 199th Birthday Feb 11, 2008
His many current duties include service on the President's Council on Bioethics, and a tireless commitment to helping young people find direction and motivation in life. He reminds them that all of us have gifts by the grace of the almighty God. (White House News Releases)
* Economists try to account for the 'yuck' factor Feb 3, 2008
The American Kidney Foundation itself opposes payments on the ground that it "devalues life." And the conservative bioethicist Leon Kass, who was chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics from 2002 to 2005, has called the commercialization of body parts "just inherently wrong.". "If we come to think about ourselves like pork bellies, pork bellies we will become," Kass has written. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Stem cells created without destroying embryos Jan 11, 2008
After all, the idea of producing stem cells by taking a single cell from an embryo was suggested by the President's Council on Bioethics in a 2005 white paper that examined ways to make the valued cell lines without creating, harming or destroying embryos. "The president's own bioethics advisory council suggested this approach," said Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan Center for Stem Cell Biology, who was not involved in the study. (Los Angeles Times)
Skin cells made to mimic stem cells Nov 21, 2007
William Hurlbut, a physician and consulting professor at Stanford University Medical Center who also serves on the President's Council on Bioethics, said the research on cell reprogramming "essentially takes the stem cell issue off the political agenda.". "It's very encouraging, and it's pretty obvious we're going to find a consensus solution," Hurlbut told msnbc. (MSNBC -- Terrorism)
Bush to nominate Harvard professor as Vatican ambassador Nov 6, 2007
Glendon also served on the President's Council on Bioethics, which considers ethics in areas including cloning and gene research. Glendon is a past winner of the National Humanities Medal. (Boston Globe)
Professor mixes faith and academics Oct 2, 2007
George has served on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and was a 2002 appointee to the President's Council on Bioethics. As for finding his calling in political scholarship, George said that it was only after "God straightened me out on being an NBA player.". (The Daily Princetonian, NJ)
Science, ideology, and stem cells Jun 24, 2007
"You don't need religion to tremble at the thought of unrestricted embryo research," wrote Charles Krauthammer, a physician and former member of the President's Council on Bioethics, last January. "You simply have to have a healthy respect for the human capacity for doing evil in pursuit of the good. Once we have taken the position of many stem cell research advocates that embryos are discardable tissue with no more intrinsic value than a hangnail or an appendix, then all barriers are down. . .... (Boston Globe)
Executive Order: Expanding Approved Stem Cell Lines in Ethically Responsible Ways Jun 21, 2007
(iii) takes into account techniques outlined by the President's Council on Bioethics, and any other appropriate techniques and research, provided they clearly meet the standard set forth in subsection(a) of this section. (iv) renames the "Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry" the"Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry;" and. (White House News Releases)
The Devout Doctor's Prescription Jun 17, 2007
Donald A. Landry's comments to the President's Council on Bioethics, in December 2004. a white paper published by the President's Council on Bioethics in May 2005 ... He also announced that he would form the President's Council on Bioethics, which would advise him on issues such as human cloning and stem-cell research. (Wall Street Journal)
Studies cite new process for stem cells Jun 7, 2007
"All in all, this is encouraging, exciting progress that shows real willingness among scientists to weigh ethical concerns even as they pursue science objectives," said Dr. William B. Hurlbut, a neuroscientist and ethicist at Stanford University who serves on the President's Council on Bioethics. Hurlbut, an opponent of research methods that destroy human embryos, champions efforts to find alternative methods of creating stem cells. (Boston Globe -- Nation)
Ordinary cells can be reprogrammed to mirror stem cells, studies find Jun 7, 2007
A white paper issued by the President's Council on Bioethics in 2005 eagerly anticipated such a discovery. Japanese researchers made substantial progress last year, publishing an influential study in which cells from the tails of adult mice were reprogrammed to become "pluripotent" able to grow into many kinds of tissues. (Yahoo News -- Human Stem Cell Research)
Michael Sandel makes 'The Case Against Perfection' Jun 5, 2007
Even if genetic enhancements were completely safe (with no unintended results) and offered freely to all (no one denied access), they would still be ethically questionable, argues Dr. Sandel, a professor of government at Harvard University and a former member of the President's Council on Bioethics. Parents may think they are doing their children a favor by "designing" them for success. (Christian Science Monitor)
Embrace mortality, then live and grow May 26, 2007
In fact, that is one of the philosophical lynchpins espoused by Dr. Leon Kass, chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics and an ardent supporter of the president's policy limiting embryonic stem cell research. What are we to do. (Herald-Tribune)
* Mingling species in the name of science Mar 27, 2007
"It is treating a human being at his or her earliest stages as a mere tool," said Georgetown University philosophy professor Alfonso Gomez-Lobo, a member of the President's Council on Bioethics. "The destruction of such an organism does not change the moral wrongness of the initial action," said Gomez-Lobo, who called the research "a violation of human dignity.". (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Stem-cell researchers look beyond the embryo Feb 11, 2007
"Had we acknowledged this possibility early and put our energies to the task, we would probably have found an answer by now," said Dr. Hurlbut, also a member of the President's Council on Bioethics. "An alternative is going to happen," said Dr. Markus Grompe, head of the Stem Cell Research Center at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. (Washington Times)
Each stored embryo a debate Jan 30, 2007
Others ethicists, such as Yuval Levin, executive director of the President's Council on Bioethics in President Bush's first term, say embryo banks may actually help avert undue influence on parents, because the banks try to "stand as a barrier between the researcher and the IVF clinic.". It is unclear how many embryos are stored at the nation's 450 fertility clinics. (USA Today)
'Embryo bank': new hope or too far? Jan 18, 2007
"This raises a real question of commodification of creating a new human life as a commodity," says Robert George, a Princeton professor and member of the President's Council on Bioethics. "Any time you manufacture products, they have to be subjected to quality controls.... If we let the reproductive technology evolution erode the understanding of our fundamental worth and dignity, and begin to think of children as products that are better or worse [based on certain traits], the consequences for... (Christian Science Monitor)
Science Obviates Politics Jan 11, 2007
The president's Council on Bioethics in May 2005 laid out several potential ways for harvesting embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos, and all of them have since been attempted and detailed in scientific journals. The possibility of cell re-programming also is promising. (New York Sun)
Animal Cloning: FDA Safety Call Not Enough Jan 9, 2007
The President's Council on Bioethics should analyze the merits of different objections and propose any needed policies that go beyond the FDA's pure safety decision. Religious leaders and ethicists should contribute to the debate by presenting their views on the merits of using animal cloning as well as recommending any limitations on cloning. (BusinessWeek)
Embryos for sale a new angle in bioethical debate Jan 7, 2007
" But others condemned the process as the unsettling culmination of recent objectionable developments, including the payment of egg and sperm donors and the growing tendency to try to select traits such as sex, intelligence and appearance. A commodity? "People have long warned we were moving toward a "Brave New World,' " said Robert P. George of Princeton University, who serves on the President's Council on Bioethics. "This is just more evidence that we haven't been able to restrain this move... (Buffalo News -- National)
WP: 'Embryo bank' raises designer-baby fears Jan 6, 2007
"People have long warned we were moving toward a 'Brave New World,' " said Robert P. George of Princeton University, who serves on the President's Council on Bioethics. "This is just more evidence that we haven't been able to restrain this move towards treating human life like a commodity. This buying and selling of eggs and sperm and now embryos based on IQ points and PhDs and other traits really moves us in the direction of eugenics.". (MSNBC -- Race)
COLUMN: Ethics & politics restrain stem cell researchers Dec 8, 2006
Hurlbut, of Stanford University's Neuroscience Institute and a member of the President's Council on Bioethics, was joined by a panel consisting of Anatomy and Neurology Professor Clive Svendsen, Associate Professor of Bioethics and Philosophy Robert Streiffer and Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison's Catholic Diocese. As debate ensued, the topic of conversation turned to the ongoing ethical implications that surround both the new method of research and traditional methods of stem cell exploration,... (U-Wire.com)
'Frontline' focuses on growing concerns of the elderly Nov 21, 2006
"We're on the thresh old of the first-ever mass geriatric society," says Dr. Leon Kass, chair of the President's Council on Bioethics from 2002 to 2005. Adds Dr. David Muller, cofounder of Visiting Doctors, which provides primary care to homebound elderly in New York City, "Nobody's bothered to think about what the repercussions are of trying to keep people alive longer and longer.". (Boston Globe)
Bioethics talk urges caution Nov 7, 2006
The blind pursuit of modern science can result in a dangerous fixation upon the human ideal, Leon Kass of the President's Council on Bioethics warned Monday in the first of three lectures titled "Keeping life human: Biology and human dignity.". "For the most part, we should be mightily glad" that we live at the beginning of a golden age, Kass told a packed audience yesterday afternoon, citing the power of today's medicines to yield healthier and longer lives. (The Daily Princetonian, NJ)
* Live fast, die young. Fast and live longer Nov 5, 2006
As appointments with death are postponed, says Leon Kass, former chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, human lives may become less engaging, less meaningful, even less beautiful. "Mortality makes life matter," Kass recently wrote. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
A FEDERAL ORGAN GRAB Nov 2, 2006
At last month's meeting of the President's Council on Bioethics, Dr. Peter Lawler declared that the very idea that people own their organs was an "offense [to] dignity.". HHS and the President's Council are considering presumed consent because appeals to altruism aren't producing enough donations. (New York Post -- Opinions)
A prescription that may extend life Oct 31, 2006
As appointments with death are postponed, says Dr. Leon R. Kass, former chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics, human lives may become less engaging, less meaningful, even less beautiful. "Mortality makes life matter," Kass recently wrote. (International Herald Tribune)
Exclusive: Rebecca Hagelin argues amendment on ballot advocates 'dark science' Oct 19, 2006
But that's not the case, which may explain why "none of the major biotech companies none of them are putting their money behind therapeutic cloning," according to Leon Kass, former chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics. Under Amendment 2, however, Missouri taxpayers will be putting their money behind it. (WorldNetDaily)
Statistics overlooked in critique of gender equity study Oct 4, 2006
After having recently attended a meeting of the President's Council on Bioethics in Washington, I would like to point out that of the 18 members sitting on the council only three are women. Young's position that the National Academies report ``upholds an orthodoxy of female victimization" undermines the challenges that women in science confront every day.LINDSAY CHURA Adelaide, Australia The writer is a Fulbright fellow at the Research Center for Reproductive Health at the University of... (Boston Globe -- Editorial)
Advanced Cell Technology Slows Rat Eye Disease With Stem Cells Sep 22, 2006
Lanza last month was criticized by a member of the President's Council on Bioethics, who said the scientist hyped the results of an experiment in which Lanza's company said it had created a way to produce stem cell lines without harming human embryos ... Robert George, a Princeton University law professor who is a member of the President's Council on Bioethics, said in a magazine article that Lanza overstated the results, published Aug. 23 in the journal Nature, because 16 embryos were... (Bloomberg)
I wish I were an embryo Aug 28, 2006
Instead, Bush promptly shifted his arguments, claiming through a White House spokesperson, "Any use of human embryos for research purposes raises serious ethical questions." The President's Council on Bioethics also deemed the new approach "ethically unacceptable." This shift from "protect embryos from destruction" to "hands off the embryos" means that either the president hasn't thought very hard about what it means to protect life, that this is a political ploy to dumb down debate on a... (The Cavalier Daily, VA)
Why the Stem Cell Advance May Not Be a Breakthrough Aug 25, 2006
Dr. William Hurlbut, head of the President's Council on Bioethics, wondered about the moral and biological implications of removing one cell from a two or three-day old developing embryo. "To pluck one cell out is to take something out of the original embryo," he says. (Time.com)
Stem-cell method preserves embryo Aug 24, 2006
I don't think this represents any kind of ethical advance," said the Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, education director for the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.A key congressional opponent of current embryonic stem-cell research, Representative Dave Weldon, a Florida Republican, said yesterday he also was unswayed.Scientists called the work an important advance, but said other researchers must verify the findings. Scientists say human embryonic stem cells, which have the capacity to... (Boston Globe -- Local)
Full Story from The Stanford Daily Jul 29, 2006
Neurology Professor William Hurlbut, a member of the President's Council on Bioethics since 2002, was at the White House when President Bush announced the veto. According to Hurlbut, the veto was "predicted, and consistent with the president's campaign promise and longstanding policy.". (U-Wire.com)
Paul Greenberg: With embryos, breaking taboos Jul 26, 2006
To quote Robert P. George, a law professor at Princeton who served on the President's Council on Bioethics: "Researchers know that stem cells derived from blastocyst-stage embryos are currently of no therapeutic value and may never actually be used in the treatment of diseases. ... In fact, there is not a single embryonic stem cell therapy even in clinical trials. (By contrast, adult and umbilical cord stem cells are already being used in the treatment of 65 diseases.) All informed commentators... (Sacramento Bee -- Opinion)
Stem-Cell Cheat Sheet Jul 19, 2006
Scientists presented several to the President's Council on Bioethics in May 2005. One of the up for vote this week asks the NIH to focus on making these alternative methods viable. (Wired News)
WP: Medical crisis of conscience widens Jul 16, 2006
"Medicine today is being asked to do all sorts of things that are in conflict with its fundamental healing traditions," said William B. Hurlbut of Stanford University, a member of the President's Council on Bioethics. Collision between state, churchThe controversy is part of the larger struggle over religion's place in society, mirroring in some ways the fight over teaching alternatives to evolution in schools. (MSNBC -- Health)
The 10 years since Dolly Jul 5, 2006
William Hurlbut, a professor at California's Stanford University and member of the President's Council on Bioethics who opposes cloning, says Dolly heralded an emerging technology that could have a "fundamental impact on human existence.". The questions raised by cloning "get to the core of what it means to be a human being," and Dolly gave them a name, Hurlbut says. (USA Today -- Tech)
GARY J. ANDRES: Promising debate May 25, 2006
Last summer the President's Council on Bioethics reviewed a variety of these new approaches and found a great deal of promise. So intriguing is this new research, that two senators historically on opposite sides of the embryonic stem cell debate have come together and introduced legislation to provide more federal funding. (Washington Times)
SUZANNE FIELDS: The mission we make possible May 11, 2006
The President's Council on Bioethics has raised several painful ethical questions about the impact of advances in biotechnology on us as individuals and as members of society. In action films like "Mission Impossible 3" the superheroes always prevail against the wicked villains, no matter how much firepower is brought to bear against the good guys. (Washington Times)
More of this story May 8, 2006
According to a 2005 report by the President's Council on Bioethics, a combination of factors is creating a growing shortage of care providers for older Americans ... According to the President's Council on Bioethics, 22 million Americans provide unpaid care for their family members, which accounts for the bulk of long-term care. (Wasilla Frontiersman, AK)
November 2001 Apr 19, 2006
Executive Order: Creation of the President's Council on Bioethics. Vice President Names Millerwise as Press Secretary. (White House News Releases)
The Body: Bulletproof Mar 23, 2006
But University of Pennsylvania professor Lee Sweeney was invited to speak before the President's Council on Bioethics a few years ago because that's exactly what he does. The commission, created by George W. Bush to map out the moral and ethical consequences of advances in medicine and biotechnology, heard Sweeney describe his research into ways of turning back the rodents' biological clock, reversing the deterioration of muscle caused by aging and even degenerative diseases. (FastCompany)
Princeton Tilts Right
(The Nation) Feb 24, 2006
He also serves on the President's Council on Bioethics, where he has worked to obstruct federal funding of stem cell research, and he helped write an amendment on behalf of the White House calling for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2004. With access and top-rank academic credentials, George has become a sought-after right-wing pundit, penning columns for National Review and the Wall Street Journal editorial page, and recently guest-blogging on Judge. (RSS - Yahoo News - Opinion/Editorial)
Defining the beginning and end of life Feb 24, 2006
David DeGrazia addresses President Bush's and the President's Council on Bioethics' stand against cloning by arguing that the pre-conscious fetus lacks the psychological unity that might bind it to its future self. It thus lacks substantial moral status and does not have a right to remain alive. (EurekAlert!)
Mostparents wouldn't select their child's sex Feb 23, 2006
The technique, currently under investigation for FDA approval, has triggered moral, legal and social concerns, and is a topic of concern of the President's Council on Bioethics. Some fear that sex selection may disrupt the natural sex ratio and could lead to gender stereotyping and discrimination. (MSNBC -- Health)
SUZANNE FIELDS: When society celebrates suicide Jan 23, 2006
The findings of the President's Council on Bioethics ring with the eloquence of an Old Testament prophet and the savvy of New Age understanding in its report, "Taking Care," about "caregiving" in an aging society: "We will need greater ethical reflection on what the young owe the old, what the old owe the young, and what we all owe one another. And we will need prudence in designing effective public policies and in making loving decisions at the bedside, so that we accept the limits of modern... (Washington Times)
