For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 28, 2001
Executive Order: Creation of the President's Council on Bioethics
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as
follows:
Section 1. Establishment. There is
established the President's Council on Bioethics (the "Council").
Sec. 2. Mission.
(a) The Council shall advise the President on bioethical
issues that may emerge as a consequence of advances in biomedical
science and technology. In connection with its advisory
role, the mission of the Council includes the following functions:
(1) to undertake fundamental inquiry into the human and moral
significance of developments in biomedical and behavioral science and
technology;
(2) to explore specific ethical and policy questions related to
these developments;
(3) to provide a forum for a national discussion of bioethical
issues;
(4) to facilitate a greater understanding of bioethical issues;
and
(5) to explore possibilities for useful international
collaboration on bioethical issues.
(b) In support of its mission, the Council may study
ethical issues connected with specific technological activities, such
as embryo and stem cell research, assisted reproduction, cloning, uses
of knowledge and techniques derived from human genetics or the
neurosciences, and end of life issues. The Council may also
study broader ethical and social issues not tied to a specific
technology, such as questions regarding the protection of human
subjects in research, the appropriate uses of biomedical technologies,
the moral implications of biomedical technologies, and the consequences
of limiting scientific research.
(c) The Council shall strive to develop a deep and
comprehensive understanding of the issues that it
considers. In pursuit of this goal, the Council shall be
guided by the need to articulate fully the complex and often competing
moral positions on any given issue, rather than by an overriding
concern to find consensus. The Council may therefore choose
to proceed by offering a variety of views on a particular issue, rather
than attempt to reach a single consensus position.
(d) The Council shall not be responsible for the review
and approval of specific projects or for devising and overseeing
regulations for specific government agencies.
(e) In support of its mission, the Council may accept
suggestions of issues for consideration from the heads of other
Government agencies and other sources, as it deems appropriate.
(f) In establishing priorities for its activities, the
Council shall consider the urgency and gravity of the particular issue;
the need for policy guidance and public education on the particular
issue; the connection of the bioethical issue to the goal of Federal
advancement of science and technology; and the existence of another
entity available to deliberate appropriately on the bioethical issue.
Sec. 3. Membership.
(a) The Council shall be composed of not more than 18
members appointed by the President from among indi-viduals who are not
officers or employees of the Federal Government. The Council
shall include members drawn from the fields of science and medicine,
law and government, philosophy and theology, and other areas of the
humanities and social sciences.
(b) The President shall designate a member of the
Council to serve as Chairperson.
(c) The term of office of a member shall be 2 years, and
members shall be eligible for reappointment. Members may
continue to serve after the expiration of their terms until the
President appoints a successor. A member appointed to fill a
vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term of such vacancy.
Sec. 4. Administration.
(a) Upon the request of the Chairperson, the heads of
executive departments and agencies shall, to the extent permitted by
law, provide the Council with information it needs for purposes of
carrying out its functions.
(b) The Council may conduct inquiries, hold hearings,
and establish subcommittees, as necessary.
(c) The Council is authorized to conduct analyses and
develop reports or other materials.
(d) Members of the Council may be compensated to the
extent permitted by Federal law for their work on the
Council. Members may be allowed travel expenses, including
per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons
serving intermittently in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), to
the extent funds are available.
(e) To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the
availability of appropriations, the Department of Health and Human
Services shall provide the Council with administrative support and with
such funds as may be necessary for the performance of the Council's
functions.
(f) The Council shall have a staff headed by an
Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services in consultation with the Chairperson. To
the extent permitted by law, office space, analytical support, and
additional staff support for the Council shall be provided by the
Department of Health and Human Services or other executive branch
departments and agencies as directed by the President.
Sec. 5. General Provisions.
(a) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. App.), may apply to the Council, any functions of the
President under that Act, except that of reporting to the Congress,
shall be performed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in
accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by the
Administrator of General Services.
(b) The Council shall terminate 2 years from the date of
this order unless extended by the President prior to that date.
(c) This order is intended only to improve the internal
management of the executive branch and it is not intended to create any
right, benefit, trust, or responsibility, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its
agencies, its officers, or any person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 28, 2001.
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