Establishing the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
Signed November 24, 2009·Barack Obama·74 FR 62671
Source
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Plain-language summary
Establishes the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues within the Department of Health and Human Services, replacing the commission created by Executive Order 13237. The commission is tasked with advising the president on bioethical issues arising from advances in biomedicine, science, and technology, identifying relevant legal and social concerns, recommending policy actions, and examining international collaboration possibilities. It may study specific technologies such as stem cell creation and genetic screening, as well as broader issues like research participant protections and scientific integrity, but cannot approve specific projects. The commission will have up to 13 presidentially appointed members from fields including bioethics, science, law, and theology, serving two-year terms, with a Chair and Vice Chair designated by the president. The Department of Health and Human Services will fund and staff the commission, and other federal agencies must provide requested information. The commission terminates two years after the order's date unless the president extends it.
Not written or reviewed by a person. Read the full order below for anything you intend to rely on.
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Legal standing
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Claimed authority
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered
Quoted from the order as written. Many orders cite nothing more specific than “the Constitution and the laws”; this reproduces what the order claims, not an assessment of whether it holds.
Disposition
Continued by: EO 13652, September 30, 2013; EO 13708, September 30, 2015 See: EO 13591, November 23, 2011 Supersedes: EO 13237, November 28, 2001
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The order, in full
Executive Order 13521 of November 24, 2009
Establishing the Presidential Commission for the
Study of Bioethical Issues
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 within
the Department of Health and Human Services the
Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical
Issues (Commission).
Sec. 2. Mission.
(a) The Commission shall advise the President on
bioethical issues that may emerge as a consequence of
advances in biomedicine and related areas of science
and technology. The Commission shall pursue its work
with the goal of identifying and promoting policies and
practices that ensure scientific research, healthcare
delivery, and technological innovation are conducted in
an ethically responsible manner. To achieve this goal,
the Commission shall:
(i) identify and examine specific bioethical, legal, and social issues
related to the potential impacts of advances in biomedical and behavioral
research, healthcare delivery, or other areas of science and technology;
(ii) recommend any legal, regulatory, or policy actions it deems
appropriate to address these issues; and
(iii) critically examine diverse perspectives and explore possibilities for
useful international collaboration on these issues.
(b) In support of its mission, the Commission may
examine issues linked to specific technologies,
including but not limited to the creation of stem cells
by novel means; intellectual property issues involving
genetic sequencing, biomarkers, and other screening
tests used for risk assessment; and the application of
neuro- and robotic sciences. It may also examine
broader issues not linked to specific technologies,
including but not limited to the protection of human
research participants; scientific integrity and
conflicts of interest in research; and the intersection
of science and human rights.
(c) The Commission shall not be responsible for the
review and approval of specific projects.
(d) The Commission may accept suggestions of issues for
consideration from executive departments and agencies
and the public as it deems appropriate in support of
its mission.
(e) In establishing priorities for its activities, the
Commission shall consider, among other things, the
significance of particular issues; the need for legal,
regulatory, and policy guidance with respect to such
issues; the connection of the issues to the goal of
Federal advancement of science and technology; and the
availability of other appropriate entities or fora for
deliberating on the issues.
(f) The Commission is authorized to conduct original
empirical and conceptual research, commission papers
and studies, hold hearings, and establish committees
and subcommittees, as necessary. The Commission is
authorized to develop reports or other materials.
Sec. 3. Membership.
(a) The Commission shall be an expert panel composed of
not more than 13 members appointed by the President,
drawn from the fields of bioethics, science, medicine,
technology, engineering, law, philosophy, theology, or
other areas of the humanities or social sciences, at
least one and not more than three of whom may be
bioethicists or scientists drawn from the executive
branch, as designated by the President.
(b) The President shall designate a Chair and Vice
Chair from among the members of the Commission. The
Chair shall convene and preside at meetings of the
Commission, determine its agenda, and direct its work.
The Vice Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair in
the absence or disability of the Chair and shall
perform such other functions as the Chair may from time
to time assign.
(c) Members shall serve for a term of 2 years and shall
be eligible for reappointment. Members may continue to
serve after the expiration of their terms until the
appointment of a successor.
Sec. 4. Administration.
(a) The Department of Health and Human Services shall
provide funding and administrative support for the
Commission to the extent permitted by law and within
existing appropriations.
(b) All executive departments and agencies and all
entities within the Executive Office of the President
shall provide information and assistance to the
Commission as the Chair may request for purposes of
carrying out the Commission's functions, to the extent
permitted by law.
(c) The Commission 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 Chair and Vice Chair.
(d) Members of the Commission shall serve without
compensation, but shall 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), consistent
with the availability of funds.
Sec. 5. Termination. The Commission shall terminate 2
years after the date of this order unless extended by
the President.
Sec. 6. General Provisions.
(a) This order supersedes Executive Order 13237 of
November 28, 2001.
(b) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. App.), may apply to the Commission,
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.
(c) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair
or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(d) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(e) This order is not intended to, and does not, create
any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 24, 2009.Reproduced from the Federal Register plain-text record, signed November 24, 2009. Typesetting artifacts are removed; no wording is changed.