Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / Notices 22209 

Jackie Painter, 

Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09079 Filed 4–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4165–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Request for Comments on Deliberation 

and Bioethics Education 

AGENCY: Department of Health and 

Human Services, Office of the Secretary, 

Presidential Commission for the Study 

of Bioethical Issues. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Presidential Commission 

for the Study of Bioethical Issues is 

requesting public comment on 

deliberation and bioethics education. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments must be received by July 20, 

2015. Comments received after this date 

will be considered only as time permits. 

ADDRESSES: Individuals, groups, and 

organizations interested in commenting 

on this topic may submit comments by 

email to info@bioethics.gov or by mail to 

the following address: Public 

Commentary, Presidential Commission 

for the Study of Bioethical Issues, 1425 

New York Ave. NW., Suite C–100, 

Washington, DC 20005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Hillary Wicai Viers, Communications 

Director, Presidential Commission for 

the Study of Bioethical Issues. 

Telephone: 202–233–3960. Email: 

hillary.viers@bioethics.gov. Additional 

information may be obtained at http:// 

www.bioethics.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 24, 2009, the President 

established the Presidential Commission 

for the Study of Bioethical Issues 

(Bioethics Commission) to advise him 

on bioethical issues generated by novel 

and emerging research in biomedicine 

and related areas of science and 

technology. The Commission is charged 

with identifying and promoting policies 

and practices that ensure ethically 

responsible conduct of scientific 

research and health care delivery. 

Undertaking these duties, the 

Commission seeks to identify and 

examine specific bioethical, legal, and 

social issues related to potential 

scientific and technological advances; 

examine diverse perspectives and 

possibilities for international 

collaboration on these issues; and 

recommend legal, regulatory, or policy 

actions as appropriate. 

The Bioethics Commission is 

considering two overarching themes of 

its work, deliberation and education, 

focusing on their symbiotic relationship 

as twin pillars of public bioethics. 

Democratic deliberation has been a 

guiding ethical principle in the 

Commission’s work, informing both its 

processes and its recommendations. The 

Commission also is committed to 

supporting bioethics education at all 

levels and across disciplines, through its 

own pedagogical materials and its 

recommendations for improving and 

integrating ethics education in a range 

of settings. This new project will 

explore the relationship between 

deliberation and bioethics education 

and the importance of public 

engagement in the bioethics 

conversation. For example, the 

Commission’s deliberations not only 

advise the U.S. federal government, but 

also play a vital role in civic education. 

Bioethics education fosters the scientific 

and ethical literacy that supports public 

deliberation about science, medicine, 

public health, and bioethics, and helps 

to prepare students for their role as 

citizens in understanding different 

perspectives on complex issues that are 

often the subject of public policy 

debates. 

At its meeting on November 6, 2014, 

the Commission heard from scholars in 

education, medical ethics, and political 

philosophy, and began its consideration 

of the relationship between deliberation 

and bioethics education and its own 

role in promoting both of these to 

advance public understanding of and 

engagement with bioethical debates. For 

example, in its most recent report, 

Ethics and Ebola: Public Health 

Planning and Response, the 

Commission made recommendations 

regarding the importance of public 

education and deliberation in preparing 

for public health emergencies. The 

ethical challenges that emerged in the 

U.S. response to the ongoing Ebola 

epidemic in western Africa underscore 

the need for appropriate forums for 

public engagement and debate on the 

ethical dimensions of public health 

decision making. 

The Commission is interested in 

receiving comments from individuals, 

groups, and professional communities 

regarding deliberation and education in 

bioethics. The Commission is 

particularly interested in receiving 

public commentary regarding: 

• The role of deliberation and 

deliberative methods to engage the 

public and inform debate in bioethics; 

• Approaches to integrating public 

dialogue into the bioethics conversation; 

• Bioethics education as a forum for 

fostering deliberative skills and 

preparing students to participate in 

public dialogue in bioethics; 

• Goals of bioethics education (e.g., 

empirical training, normative 

foundations, clinical ethics), and the 

competencies and skills bioethics 

education seeks to foster; 

• Methods and goals of designing 

bioethics education and training 

programs at different levels (e.g., 

undergraduate foci, master’s degree 

programs, terminal degree programs, 

and professional certification); 

• Potential training in bioethics 

across the lifespan at different 

educational levels and settings (e.g., 

primary/secondary education, 

community education, continuing 

professional education), and the role of 

education in laying the foundation for 

constructive public deliberation and 

debate in bioethics; 

• The appropriate role of professional 

standards for bioethicists, including 

core competencies for bioethicists, and 

potential accreditation of bioethics 

training or education programs; 

• Integrating bioethics education 

across different professional contexts, 

and establishing ‘‘dual competency’’ 

through reciprocal training in bioethics 

and a home or primary discipline (e.g., 

engineering and bioethics, medicine and 

bioethics, law and bioethics). 

To this end, the Commission is 

inviting interested parties to provide 

input and advice through written 

comments. Comments will be publicly 

available, including any personally 

identifiable or confidential business 

information that they contain. Trade 

secrets should not be submitted. 

Dated: April 13, 2015. 

Lisa M. Lee, 

Executive Director, Presidential Commission 

for the Study of Bioethical Issues. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09172 Filed 4–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4154–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Committee on Vital and Health 

Statistics: Meeting; Privacy, Security & 

Confidentiality Subcommittee 

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, the Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) 

announces the following advisory 

committee meeting. 

Name: National Committee on Vital 

and Health Statistics (NCVHS) 

Subcommittee on Privacy, 

Confidentiality & Security. 

Time And Date: May 6, 2015 9:00 

a.m.–5:00 p.m. EST, May 7, 2015 9:00 

a.m.–12:00 p.m. EST. 

Place: U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Centers for Disease 


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