Government operations and workforce · Advisory committees

Executive Order 13521: Establishing the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

President: Barack Obama

Created a presidential advisory commission to study emerging bioethical questions in medicine science and technology.

Status: Completed/expired.

Is Executive Order 13521 still in effect? No. Time-limited commission completed its reports and terminated in 2017.

What does Executive Order 13521 do?

EO 13521 established an outside expert commission, supported by HHS, to advise the President on bioethical issues and promote transparent public deliberation. It issued reports on synthetic biology, human-subject research, genomics, neuroscience and education. Continuance orders extended it, but it ended with the Obama administration.

Administration position: The commission made recommendations; it did not license research, regulate medicine or bind courts and agencies.
SignedNovember 24, 2009
TypeFederal advisory committee
Support agencyHealth and Human Services

Before and after

Before the order

The prior President’s Council on Bioethics had ended, leaving no comparable presidential body.

After the order

A multidisciplinary commission conducted public meetings and published advisory reports.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
CommissionStudy issues and recommend policyCompleted
HHSProvide funding and administrative supportCompleted
AgenciesSupply information when requestedHistorical

What happened next

EO 13521 created the commission.

Continuance orders extended its charter.