Should We Hire a Watchdog to Hold Accountable President Obama's Bioethics Council?

President Obama appointed Atlanta's own James Wagner, president of Emory University, as Vice Chair of his new Bioethics Panel, a panel Obama himself created after disbanding the previous council established by former President George W. Bush. Obama also appointed a woman, Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Philadelphia, as chair of his bioethics council.

Obama dismissed the previous council for being too "philosophically leaning" and replaced it with one which will "develop its recommendations through practical and policy-related analyses."[1]

The two councils are as different as night and day.

President Bush's Bioethics council focused more on the ethical and philosophical issues surrounding the often controversial topic of bioethics. Among other things, the Bush council were to study end of life issues, ... the moral implications of biomedical technology, and the consequences of limiting scientific research." [1]

Obama's bioethics council is taking a different tack with the issue of bioethics. This council will be studying "intellectual property issues, the application of neuro- and robotic sciences, ... conflicts of interest in scientific research, and the intersection of science and human rights." [1]

The only things the two councils have in common is exploring stem cells and protecting human subjects in research.[1]

Obama's current advisers who have written on bioethical issues are in favor of euthanasia and assisted suicide. The study or discussion of the moral implications of bioethics isn't a consideration in the new Obama bioethics council.

One thing about bioethics is certain: it leaves a lot of room for abuse. It is a broad terminology, covering the spectrum of human life and death issues, everything from cloning to stem cell research and whether or not to treat the elderly, disabled and unhealthy babies or to allow them to perish. In short, it gives some men the opportunity to play God.

Obama is in favor of stem cell research, even if that involves cloning human embryos to further stem cell research, something Obama has stated in a speech on March 9, 2009. [2]

Since human cloning of any kind is not only unethical but also illegal, is this a statement President Obama should even be making publicly?

The mere fact that Obama is even contemplating the possibility of cloning human embryos is disturbing. It begs the question, how much further would he be willing to go for the utilitarian greater good?

If his council is going to make recommendations based upon practical and policy-related analyses, where will the practicality come from? What sorts of policies are we talking about here?

Will this bioethics panel emerge with morbid policies regarding human life already in existence, such as treatment for the elderly, the terminally ill, and the disabled? Or will their policies apply to future generations such as newborns with mental and physical challenges?

Will it become policy to allow those whose lives are valued at substandard to die so that those who are healthy may benefit from the resources those "less than human" would have used?

The subject of bioethics is a double-edged sword and those willing to tackle it on either side are bound to get a few cuts.

But when it comes to implementing bioethics policies, Obama, as well as society as a whole, must tread a very fine line. Philosophy and ethics must be included in the process. Someone must be there to say, "No, that is not right," or, at the very least, "all human life is equally valuable."

Otherwise, that double-edge sword could get bloody.

Sources:

[1] The Hastings Center, Bioethics Forum
F. Daniel Davis, Ph.D., served as executive director of the President's Council on Bioethics from January 2006 to September 2009
[2] Lifenews