UPDATE Winter 2007
It’s been a busy few months for the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, with two reports published since the last edition of UPDATE. From everyone at the Council, we wish you a very enjoyable Christmas break.
New report on public health
The report ‘Public health: ethical issues’ was published in November 2007. It considers the responsibilities of governments, individuals and others in promoting the health of the population. The Council concluded that the state has a duty to help everyone lead a healthy life and reduce inequalities in health. A ‘stewardship model’ sets out guiding principles for making decisions about public health policies, and an ‘intervention ladder’ provides a way of thinking about the acceptability of different public health measures.
The report uses four case studies to illustrate the ethical issues: infectious disease; obesity; alcohol and smoking; and water fluoridation. Recommendations for policy makers are made in each of these areas. For example:
- The Government should implement tougher measures to tackle excessive alcohol consumption, such as increasing tax on alcohol and restricting hours of sale.
- Policies on selling and advertising tobacco and alcohol that provide the greatest protection to consumers should be adopted by tobacco and alcohol companies worldwide.
- The food industry should adopt the food labelling scheme that is most effective in helping people make healthy choices. Where industry fails to do this, there is an ethical justification for introducing legislation.
- Introducing more stringent policies for childhood vaccination (for example, penalties for those who do not comply) would not be justified at present in the UK.
- The most appropriate way of deciding whether fluoride should be added to water supplies is through democratic decision-making procedures at the local and regional level.
Find out more: Public Health
New report on the forensic use of bioinformation
The Council published its report ‘The forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues’ in September 2007. The report concluded that fingerprinting and DNA profiling are valuable tools in the detection and prosecution of offenders, but more safeguards are needed to protect the liberty and privacy of the innocent.
For example, the Council recommended that the police should only be allowed to keep the DNA of people who are convicted of a crime. Currently, the police can permanently store DNA taken from people who have been arrested even if they are later found to be innocent. The exception would be people charged with serious violent or sexual offences, whose DNA could be kept for up to five years even if they were not convicted.
Further recommendations are made in the following areas:
- the storage of bioinformation taken from witnesses, victims and children;
- the use of the National DNA Database for familial searching, ethnic inferencing and research;
- the possibility of a population-wide DNA database;
- the use of bioinformation in court; and
- the governance and ethical oversight of forensic databases.
In each case, the Council weighed up whether the need to protect public safety was sufficient to justify interfering with innocent people’s liberty and privacy.
Find out more: Bioinformation
New Working Party on dementia
The Council’s new Working Party on dementia met for the first time in November. The group, chaired by Tony Hope, Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Oxford, will be considering, among other issues, how decisions are made for or with people with dementia and the type of care they receive. A public consultation will be held in spring 2008 and a report will be published in summer 2009.
Find out more: Dementia
New Chair of the Council
We are delighted to announce that Albert Weale, Professor of Government at the University of Essex, will take the post of Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics from January 2008. Professor Weale will succeed Professor Sir Bob Hepple QC, who has ably led the Council for the past five years.
Find out more: Latest Press Release
Professor Peter Lipton
We were shocked and saddened by the news that Professor Peter Lipton died suddenly on 25th November. Peter was a popular, dedicated and highly respected member of Council, whose articulate and lively contributions to our debates will be sorely missed. He chaired the Council’s Working Party on pharmacogenetics from 2002-2003, before becoming a full member of Council at the end of 2003. An obituary by Peter's colleagues at the University of Cambridge can be found at:
www.hps.cam.ac.uk/news/peterlipton.html
Teaching resources on animal research
The Nuffield Curriculum Centre and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics have worked together to produce a suite of teaching resources on the ethics of animal research. They are designed to fit into science and citizenship lessons and aim to help students make informed decisions about the use of animals in research. Download the resources at: The use of animals in research: resources for schools
Recent consultation responses
Department for Communities and Local Government
A response to the Discrimination Law Review – A Framework for Fairness: Proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain, September 2007
See: Responses to consultations of other organisations
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Last Updated Thu, 31 January 2008