FINDING A FORUM FOR BIOETHICS IN UNITED-STATES PUBLIC-POLICY

Advances in biomedical research and health care simultaneously create practical benefits and ethical dilemmas. These bioethical dilemmas are the subject of intense social and political debate. Recent attempts i n the United States to address these issues in a national, public poli cy setting have had mixed success. The absence of a single nation al v oice has resulted in many voices at many levels. This article describe s and analyzes past national bioethics bodies in an effort to find com monalities for both success and failure. It concludes that reconstitut ion of an Ethics Advisory Board within the Department of Health and Hu man Services and the formation of a President's Bioethics Commission a re needed as the nation confronts new and difficult choices in researc h ethics and the delivery of health care.