Creation of the President's Council on Bioethics

Executive Order 13237 of November 28, 2001

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
individuals 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.

    (Presidential Sig.)B

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    November 28, 2001.