Public Meeting of the President's Council on Bioethics on December 12-13, 2002

Résumé

The President's Council on Bioethics will hold its eighth meeting, at which it will discuss, among other things, current and future prospects for genetic enhancements (presentation by Dr. Francis Collins of the National Human Genome Research Institute [NHGRI]). Other topics will include: Technologies to increase the human lifespan (presentations by Dr. Steven Austad, University of Idaho, and Dr. S. Jay Olshansky, University of Chicago), and the possibility of overmedicating children with stimulants such as Ritalin (presentation by Dr. Lawrence H. Diller, University of California-San Francisco). The Council may also touch on issues relating to organ donation and procurement. Subjects discussed by the Council at past meetings include: Human cloning; embryonic stem cells; the patentability of human organisms; enhancements of human mood, memory, and muscles; choosing the sex of children; and international models of biotech regulation.