The ability to shape public policy has been a hallmark of the committee since it was formed in 1983. Its report, denouncing a "zeal to procreate" among some segments of society, warned that current advances in genetics could be exploited in eugenics. The moratorium, which covers researchers in all federal facilities, is meant to allow time for more permanent guidelines to be drawn up. It applies to any work that is meant to alter the genes, chromosomes or sex of embryos in vitro.
The Comité Consultatif National d'Ethique pour les Sciences de la Vie et de la Santé (National Advisory Commission on Ethics in the Life and Health Sciences) was created by President François Mitterand. Its chairman is Jean Bernard, the eminent hematologist and member of the Académie Française. The 79-year-old Bernard, author of a major work on the geographic distribution of blood problems, reports to Mitterand once a year. ...
