[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 48 (Monday, December 3, 2001)]
[Pages 1724-1726]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13237--Creation of the President's Council on Bioethics

November 28, 2001

    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 the President's 
Council on Bioethics (the ``Council'').
    Sec. 2. Mission.
    (a) The Council shall advise the President on bioethical issues that 
may emerge as a consequence of advances in biomedical science and 
technology. In connection with its advisory role, the mission of the 
Council includes the following functions:
(1)          to undertake fundamental inquiry into the human and moral 
            significance of developments in biomedical and behavioral 
            science and technology;
(2)          to explore specific ethical and policy questions related to 
            these developments;
(3)          to provide a forum for a national discussion of bioethical 
            issues;
(4)          to facilitate a greater understanding of bioethical issues; 
            and
(5)          to explore possibilities for useful international 
            collaboration on bioethical issues.
    (b) In support of its mission, the Council may study ethical issues 
connected with specific technological activities, such as embryo

[[Page 1725]]

and stem cell research, assisted reproduction, cloning, uses of 
knowledge and techniques derived from human genetics or the 
neurosciences, and end of life issues. The Council may also study 
broader ethical and social issues not tied to a specific technology, 
such as questions regarding the protection of human subjects in 
research, the appropriate uses of biomedical technologies, the moral 
implications of biomedical technologies, and the consequences of 
limiting scientific research.
    (c) The Council shall strive to develop a deep and comprehensive 
understanding of the issues that it considers. In pursuit of this goal, 
the Council shall be guided by the need to articulate fully the complex 
and often competing moral positions on any given issue, rather than by 
an overriding concern to find consensus. The Council may therefore 
choose to proceed by offering a variety of views on a particular issue, 
rather than attempt to reach a single consensus position.
    (d) The Council shall not be responsible for the review and approval 
of specific projects or for devising and overseeing regulations for 
specific government agencies.
    (e) In support of its mission, the Council may accept suggestions of 
issues for consideration from the heads of other Government agencies and 
other sources, as it deems appropriate.
    (f) In establishing priorities for its activities, the Council shall 
consider the urgency and gravity of the particular issue; the need for 
policy guidance and public education on the particular issue; the 
connection of the bioethical issue to the goal of Federal advancement of 
science and technology; and the existence of another entity available to 
deliberate appropriately on the bioethical issue.
    Sec. 3. Membership.
    (a) The Council shall be composed of not more than 18 members 
appointed by the President from among individuals who are not officers 
or employees of the Federal Government. The Council shall include 
members drawn from the fields of science and medicine, law and 
government, philosophy and theology, and other areas of the humanities 
and social sciences.
    (b) The President shall designate a member of the Council to serve 
as Chairperson.
    (c) The term of office of a member shall be 2 years, and members 
shall be eligible for reappointment. Members may continue to serve after 
the expiration of their terms until the President appoints a successor. 
A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired 
term of such vacancy.
    Sec. 4. Administration.
    (a) Upon the request of the Chairperson, the heads of executive 
departments and agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide 
the Council with information it needs for purposes of carrying out its 
functions.
    (b) The Council may conduct inquiries, hold hearings, and establish 
subcommittees, as necessary.
    (c) The Council is authorized to conduct analyses and develop 
reports or other materials.
    (d) Members of the Council may be compensated to the extent 
permitted by Federal law for their work on the Council. Members may 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), to the extent funds are available.
    (e) To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability 
of appropriations, the Department of Health and Human Services shall 
provide the Council with administrative support and with such funds as 
may be necessary for the performance of the Council's functions.
    (f) The Council 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 Chairperson. To the extent permitted by law, 
office space, analytical support, and additional staff support for the 
Council shall be provided by the Department of Health and Human Services 
or other executive branch departments and agencies as directed by the 
President.
    Sec. 5. General Provisions.
    (a) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 
U.S.C. App.), may apply to the Council, any functions of the

[[Page 1726]]

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.
    (b) The Council shall terminate 2 years from the date of this order 
unless extended by the President prior to that date.
    (c) This order is intended only to improve the internal management 
of the executive branch and it is not intended to create any right, 
benefit, trust, or responsibility, substantive or procedural, 
enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its 
agencies, its officers, or any person.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 November 28, 2001.

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:19 a.m., November 
29, 2001]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on 
November 30.