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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release July 19, 1996
                 PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES MEMBERS TO THE
                 NATIONAL BIOETHICS ADVISORY COMMISSION

President Clinton today announced his intention to appoint the Chairman and members of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission. Established by Presidential Executive Order on October 3, 1995, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) will provide guidance to federal agencies on the ethical conduct of current and future human biological and behavioral research. The Commission members' expertise includes the fields of philosophy and theology, law and medicine, biology, and other social and behavioral sciences. The President also included community representatives to ensure a well-rounded Commission.

The President is announcing the appointment of the following individuals:

Dr. Harold T. Shapiro of Princeton, New Jersey, is President of Princeton University and a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs. Dr. Shapiro has been selected to chair the Commission. He is a past member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Patricia Backlar of Portland, Oregon, is a Senior Scholar at the Center for Ethics in Health Care at Oregon Health Sciences University where she specializes in issues concerning individuals with severe and persistent mental disorders. She is also a senior research associate in the Department of Philosophy at Portland State University. Ms. Backlar is also the Editor of the Ethics Section for the Community Mental Health Journal.

Arturo Brito, M.D., of North Miami, Florida, is Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Brito is also the Medical Director of the Pediatric Mobile Clinic of the University of Miami.

Alexander M. Capron of Santa Monica, California, is University Professor of Law and Medicine at the University of Southern California, where he is also co-director of the Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics. Dr. Capron specializes in legalmedical
issues and biomedical ethics.

Eric J. Cassell, M.D., of New York is Clinical Professor of Public Health at Cornell Medical College and Attending Physician at the New York Hospital. Dr. Cassell is a Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors for the Hastings Center and has written extensively about ethical issues for more than 20 years.

R. Alta Charo of Madison, Wisconsin, holds joint associate professorships in the University of Wisconsin Medical and Law Schools. Ms. Charo has held government appointments in the Office of Technology Assessment and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

James Childress of Charlottesville, Virginia, is the Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of Medical Education at the University of Virginia where he is also the Co-Director of the Virginia Health Policy Research Center. Dr. Childress has previously served as Vice-Chairman of the National Task Force on Organ Transplantation.

David Cox, M.D., of Belmont, California, is a Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Cox is a world-renowned expert on genetic defects associated with Chromosome 21, including Down Syndrome.

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., of Brookline, Massachusetts, is Associate Professor of Medicine and Social Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard Medical School. A member of the Ethics Group in the 1994 President's Health Care Task Force, Dr. Emanuel is the author of many articles on medical ethics, focusing particularly on decision-making in terminal care, the physician-patient relationship and managed care.

Laurie M. Flynn of Alexandria, Virginia, is the Executive Director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Ms. Flynn is the author of numerous publications on family mental health services and has been a consultant to child welfare and family support organizations at the federal, state and county government levels.

Steven H. Holtzman of Sudbury, Massachusetts, is Chief Business Officer of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company which uses genetics in identifying genes responsible for common major diseases. Mr. Holtzman is the co-chair of the Biotechnology Industry Organization's (BIO) Bioethics Committee.

Bernard Lo, M.D., of Berkley, California, is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Program in Medical Ethics at the University of California, San Francisco. His research focuses on decisions regarding life-sustaining interventions, ethical issues regarding HIV infection, and the doctor-patient relationship in managed care.

Lawrence H. Miike, M.D., of Kaneohe, Hawaii, is the Director of the Department of Health, in the State of Hawaii. A former Senior Associate with the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, Dr. Miike's studies led to the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act, helped shape federal policy on AIDS, and on health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Thomas H. Murray, Ph.D., of Shaker Heights, Ohio, is Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Murray's research focuses on ethics in medicine and science, including ethical aspects of health policy, the care of newborns and children, occupational health, and genetics.

Diane Scott-Jones, Ph.D., of Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, is Professor of Psychology at Temple University. Dr. Scott-Jones is a member and past Chair of the Ethics Committee of the Society for Research in Child Development. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association/American Psychological Society Joint Task Force to Revise the Ethical Principles for Psychological Research. Her research involves the family's influence on children's development.

The Commission is expected to hold its first meeting in late summer or early fall. As a first priority, the Commission will focus on protection of the rights and welfare of human research subjects and issues in the management and use of genetic information. In setting the remainder of NBAC's agenda, the Commission will be guided by the following criteria: the public health or public policy urgency of the issue, the relation of the issue to the goals of Federal investment in science and technology, the relative capacity of the Commission as compared to other entities to deliberate on an issue, and the extent of interest in the issue across the government. The Commission may also address issues suggested by Congress and members of the public.

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