Bioethics council sticks to apolitical science. by LEON KASS

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Kass is chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics.



Houston Chronicle

March 7, 2004, 9:29PM

Bioethics council sticks to apolitical science

By LEON KASS

Even before the President's Council on Bioethics first met in January 2002, charges were flying that the council was stacked with political and religious conservatives, appointed to rubber-stamp the president's moral and political views. One newspaper story on the day of our first meeting even went so far as to compare us to the Taliban.

Today those charges are swirling again, in response to three new appointments President Bush has made as the council begins its second term. The charges were malicious and false then, as they are now.

In a little over two years, the council has issued three major reports (on human cloning, on enhancement uses of biotechnology and on stem cell research), with a fourth due in April (on regulating biotechnologies touching the beginnings of human life). We also issued an anthology of readings on "Being Human" to contribute to public understanding of the deeper issues of bioethics.

While some have taken issue with this recommendation or that conclusion, these reports have been widely praised -- in the Hastings Center Report, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times Magazine, among others -- for their balance, thoughtfulness, accuracy, moral seriousness and respect for competing opinions. In the cloning report, we offered powerful arguments both for and against cloning for research. Despite large differences regarding the moral status of human embryos, we issued a unanimous document on the current state of stem cell research. Our forthcoming report has found common ground between liberals and conservatives, anti-abortionists and pro-choicers, for near-unanimous public policy recommendations.




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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2438009

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1. (Dueling Editorials) Editorial on Kass from the Mecury News

Posted on Sun, Mar. 07, 2004

INDUSTRY NEEDS MODERATE VOICE TO PROMOTE CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH

Mercury News Editorial


Silicon Valley and the biotechnology industry cannot afford to sit back and let President Bush and the President's Council on Bioethics dictate the industry's future.

Bush has already proved he is willing to play politics with science by severely limiting stem cell research in the United States. The council's writings (on stem cell research, human cloning and enhancement uses of biotechnology) show a similar bias.


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The council's latest outrage was its removal Feb. 27 of world renowned biologist Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California-San Francisco. Blackburn reportedly clashed frequently with conservative council Chairman Leon Kass, properly insisting that the council consider the moral cost of forgoing potentially lifesaving research. The council also removed ethicist William May, who also supported such research.

Kass insists that the actions weren't politically motivated. But his explanation reeks of politics, as does his replacement of Blackburn and May with a pediatric neurosurgeon, political scientist and a professor of government who are known to espouse Kass' beliefs.



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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/8128278.htm