Ethics

Those of you in the legal academy will recognize Anita Allen at the University of Pennsylvania (who works on issues of privacy, surveillance, memory, and more) and Nita Farahany at Vanderbilt University (who works on neurolaw, neuroethics, behavioral genetics, and more and has been frequently mentioned on this blog).  I send my congratulations to them both!

The commission has a good number of people who do neuroscience-related work.  In addition, the commission's charter states: "In support of its mission, the Commission may examine issues linked to specific technologies, including but not limited to . . . the application of neuro and robotic sciences."  So it will be interesting to see how its work develops.  George W. Bush's President's Council on Bioethics paid a good bit of attention to neuroethics issues, and it seems like the Obama incarnation may do the same.

The phrase "Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues" is a mouthful.   The initials "PCSBI" don't help much.  Maybe someday, there will be a uniform name from President to President that will have a convenient shorthand.  In the meantime, Summer Johnson suggests "pucks-bee," (though I might have gone with "picks-bee").