Commissions on a Mission

August 18, 2009

On September 31, executive order 13446 expires, and with it, so does the charter of the President’s Council on Bioethics. But in June, the Obama administration disbanded the council ahead of schedule because, as The New York Times reported, it “was designed by the Bush administration to be ‘a philosophically leaning advisory group’ that favored discussion over developing a shared consensus.” According to a White House press officer quoted in the same article, the president plans to establish a new council “that ‘offers practical policy options.’” (Science Progress)