Pellegrino named to head president's bioethics council

Published: 2005-09-12

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, a physician and longtime leader in developing bioethical standards based on Catholic values, has been named chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics. Pellegrino, 85, said that among the topics he plans to address in his new post are greater access to health care and issues involved in end-of-life care. Pellegrino, retired professor of medicine and medical ethics at Georgetown University's Medical Center and a former president of The Catholic University of America, will replace Dr. Leon Kass, bioethics professor at the University of Chicago, on Oct. 1. Kass, chairman since 2001, will continue as a member of the council. The announcement was made Sept. 8 by the White House. The council was created in 2001 by President George W. Bush to advise him on bioethical issues. Previous presidents have had similar advisory boards.

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