Bioethics, once a theoretical study, has moved to the forefront of medical practice. Controversies such as recent recommendations to reduce mammogram screenings, and debates weighing costs and rationing of care bring bioethics into the limelight.

President Barack Obama has signed an Executive Order creating a new Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. The President also named his appointments for Chair and Vice Chair of the commission-Dr. Amy Gutmann and Dr. James W. Wagner.

President Obama stated in a press release on the commission, "As our nation invests in science and innovation and pursues advances in biomedical research and health care, it's imperative that we do so in a responsible manner. This new commission will develop its recommendations through practical and policy-related analyses. I am confident that Amy and Jim will use their decades of experience in both ethics and science to guide the new Commission in this work, and I look forward to listening to their recommendations in the coming months and years."

The President's Commission has the purpose of advising the President on bioethical issues emerging from continued advancement in biomedicine, as well as any related areas of science and technology. The Commission's goals are to identify and promote policies and practices that "ensure scientific research, health care delivery, and technological innovation are conducted in an ethically responsible manner."

Dr. Gutmann is currently president of the University of Pennsylvania and the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the School of Arts and Sciences. She holds secondary appointments in communications, education, and philosophy. Dr. Gutmann was the founding Director of the University Center for Human Values - a multi-disciplinary center for greater research and discourse on ethics and human values. Dr. Gutmann has also authored and edited 15 books and more than 100 articles, essays, and book chapters. She is a founding member of the Association of Practical and Professional Ethics.

Dr. Wagner is currently President of Emory University, where he has championed the role of ethics in the mission of the university by significantly enhancing the prominence of Emory's university-wide Center for Ethics. Dr. Wagner previously served as Provost, University Vice President, and Interim President of Case Western Reserve University. Prior to being a professor, Dr. Wagner worked as a researcher for the Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health, where he developed quality-assurance methods and performed failure analyses on medical devices. Dr. Wagner has authored more than 115 professional publications, and was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.

Read all the details:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-establishes-new-presidential-commission-study-bioethical-issues-nam

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