xvu 
Preface 
Monitoring Stem Cell Research is a report of the President's 
Council on Bioethics, which was created by President George 
W. Bush on November 28, 2001, by means of Executive Order 
13237. 
The Council's purpose is to advise the President on bio- 
ethical issues related to advances in biomedical science and 
technology. In connection with its advisory role, the mission of 
the Council includes the following functions: 
• To undertake fundamental inquiry into the human 
and moral significance of developments in biomedi- 
cal and behavioral science and technology. 
• To explore specific ethical and policy questions re- 
lated to these developments. 
• To provide a forum for a national discussion of bio- 
ethical issues. 
• To facilitate a greater understanding of bioethical is- 
sues. 
The President left the Council free to establish its own pri- 
orities among the many issues encompassed within its char- 
ter, and to determine its own modes of proceeding. 
Stem cell research has been of interest to, and associated in 
the public mind with, this Council since its creation. Taking up 
the charge given to us by President Bush in his August 9, 2001, 
speech on stem cell research, the Council has fiom its begin- 
nings been monitoring developments in this fast-paced and 
exciting field of research. The first formal discussions of the 
PRE -PUBLICATION VERSION 
