Monthly Archives: February, 2015
Bioethics Commission Releases Brief on Ebola and Ethics Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies
Today, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) released a brief, Ethics and Ebola: Public Health Planning and Response, to the administration and the public on ethical preparedness for public health emergency response, with a focus on the U.S. response to the current Ebola epidemic in western Africa. The brief considers […]
Share this article
The Bioethics Commission and Ethics Integration at All Levels
This week, Research Analyst Elizabeth Fenton will present on behalf of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) at the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Twenty-fourth Annual International Conference. The presentation is part of a four-day conference held by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE), an organization founded […]
Share this article
New Educational Module from the Bioethics Commission on Community Engagement in Synthetic Biology
The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) has posted to Bioethics.gov a new educational module on community engagement in the context of synthetic biology. The module integrates material from the Bioethics Commission’s report New Directions: The Ethics of Synthetic Biology and Emerging Technologies (New Directions). The aim of this module is […]
Share this article
Rethinking the Global Response to Public Health Emergencies
Members of the Presidential Commission on the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) are considering possible recommendations for future engagements in public health emergencies, including ethical approaches to conducting research in affected countries even in the midst of a crisis. Yesterday’s deliberations touched on a wide range of issues generated by the ongoing Ebola epidemic in western […]
Share this article
Bioethics Commission Finalizing Work on Neuroscience
On July 1, 2013, President Obama requested that the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (the Bioethics Commission) review the ethical considerations of neuroscience research and its application as part of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. Specifically, the President instructed the Bioethics Commission to “identify proactively a set of […]
Share this article
Back Live for Day 2 of the Bioethics Commission Meeting in D.C.
We are back live and blogging in Washington, D.C. for day 2 of the 20th public meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission). The Bioethics Commission is continuing the discussion initiated at its November meeting in Salt Lake City focusing on issues arising at home and abroad from U.S. […]
Share this article
Amnesia and Other Side Effects of Epidemics
If there is one medical condition that commonly occurs at the culmination of many infectious disease epidemics it is “amnesia.” That was the message from Howard Markel, M.D., Ph.D., the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan. He looked to previous fights against infectious diseases over the […]
Share this article
Experiencing Ebola: First-Person Perspectives from the Diaspora and Health Care Workers
Among the many unfortunate outcomes of the recent Ebola outbreak is how public reaction played out in the affected communities, both in the countries themselves and also in the western African diaspora in the U.S. As the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) continued its review of U.S. engagement in the […]
Share this article
Learning the Lessons from Ebola to Inform Future Fights
As part of its review of U.S. engagement in the global response to the current Ebola epidemic, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) sought insights from a panel of experts with decades of experience on the front lines of fighting infectious diseases. Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of the National School […]
Share this article
In Rush to Develop Ebola Therapies, a Debate Over Placebo Control
This morning the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) resumed consideration of U.S. engagement in the global response to the current Ebola epidemic by examining ethical issues that arise when conducting research during a public health emergency. As experts move to accelerate development of drugs and vaccines against Ebola, a debate […]
