Welcome to coverage of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, which is meeting today and tomorrow in Washington, D.C. (August 1-2, 2012).
This meeting will continue discussions on genomic privacy, which the Commission has been following since January 2011. At the heart of the Commission’s work on genomics is how to reconcile an individual’s need for privacy, consent, and respect with the need for gathering data from many individuals to advance discoveries that benefit the common good. The Commission expects to deliver a report on genomics and privacy in fall 2012.
The Commission will also continue exploring issues surrounding how the country should best prepare to protect children in the event of a terrorist attack or other large-scale disaster. The Commission is proceeding with a careful review of the ethical considerations of conducting clinical trials of medical countermeasures for children at the request of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Guest speakers include Latanya Sweeney, Ph.D. of Harvard University, David Resnik, J.D., Ph.D. of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Neal Halsey, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Ruth Berkelman, M.D. of Emory University.
Please follow the blog throughout today and tomorrow for updates. Also, you can follow the proceedings live on a Webcast: http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/bioethics/120801/
