The Nuffield Council on Bioethics was set up in response to concerns about the lack of a national body responsible for evaluating the ethical implications of developments in biomedicine and biotechnology. Its terms of reference are:
To identify and define ethical questions raised by recent developments in biological and medical research that concern, or are likely to concern, the public interest;
To make arrangements for the independent examination of such questions with appropriate involvement of relevant stakeholders;
To inform and engage in policy and media debates about those ethical questions and provide informed comment on emerging issues related to or derived from the Council’s published or ongoing work; and
To make policy recommendations to Government or other relevant bodies and to disseminate its work through published reports, briefings and other appropriate outputs.
How the Council works
The Council selects topics to examine through a horizon scanning programme, which aims to identify developments relevant to biological and medical research. Members of the Council meet quarterly to discuss and contribute to ongoing work, review recent advances in medical and biological research that raise ethical questions and choose topics for further exploration. The Council is well known for its in-depth inquiries which usually take 18–24 months and are overseen by an expert working group, informed by extensive consultation and research.
Membership and governance
The Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics is appointed by the Nuffield Foundation in consultation with the other funders. Chairs are appointed for five years. Council members are drawn from relevant fields of expertise including science, medicine, sociology, philosophy and law, for an initial period of three years, with the possibility of an additional three-year term. When vacancies arise, the Council advertises widely. The Council's Membership Advisory group considers and makes recommendations to the Council on future members selected from the respondents to advertisements.
Genome editing and human reproduction: social and ethical issues
Human embryo culture: Discussions concerning the statutory time limit for maintaining human embryos in culture in the light of some recent scientific developments
Cosmetic procedures: ethical issues
Non-invasive prenatal testing: ethical issues
Genome editing: an ethical review
natural: Ideas about naturalness in public and political debates about science, technology and medicine
Children and clinical research: ethical issues
The collection, linking and use of data in biomedical research and healthcare: ethical issues
The findings of a series of engagement activities exploring the culture of scientific research in the UK
The ethics of research related to healthcare in developing countries
Stem cell therapy: the ethical issues – a discussion paper
The ethics of clinical research in developing countries: a discussion paper
Genetically modified crops: the ethical and social issues
Mental disorders and genetics: the ethical context
Animal-to-human transplants: the ethics of Xenotransplantation
Human tissue: ethical and legal issues
Genetic screening: ethical issues
Influence
The Council's recommendations to policy makers have often been described as 'influential'.
Funding
The Council was entirely funded by the Nuffield Foundation from 1991 to 1994. Since 1994, the Council has been jointly funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and The Wellcome Trust on a five-year rolling system. Towards the end of each five-year period, a process of external review is a condition of continued support. Funding has been confirmed until 2022 following the satisfactory completion of the latest funding bid.
Ethical approach
The Council takes the view that its terms of reference do not require it to adopt the same ethical framework or set of principles in all reports. The Council is therefore not bound by the values of particular schools of philosophy or approaches in bioethics, such as the 'four principles of bioethics', or the Barcelona Principles. In 2006-7, John Harris, Professor of Bioethics at the University of Manchester, and Dr Sarah Chan carried out an external review of the way ethical frameworks, principles, norms and guiding concepts feature in the Council's publications. The authors found that the ethical frameworks used in the Council's publications had become increasingly explicit and transparent.
