How do you know that bioethics has made it big time in a country, in my humble opinion? Their government creates a bioethics commission, of course! According to ModernGhana.com, UNESCO has bought bioethics, via commission, to Ghana and has empaneled a 16 member group to discuss important bioethical issues play an advisory role, and to facilitate the simplification and dissemination of complicated scientific information for the public and stakeholders.

However, what many of you followers of US or other kinds of commissions (all 3 of you) may not know is that most bioethics advisory commissions in other countries are not filled with prominent academics who sit in poorly ventilated, slightly too cool hotel ballrooms drinking bad coffee and nearly stale danish.

Most national bioethics commissions in Africa, in Eastern Europe, and South America are comprised of members from the various governmental agencies who have a stake in bioethics who come to the table with their political agenda on their sleeve and their bureaucratic hat on. In the case of the Ghanaian committee, UNESCO representatives have join the mix–which should make for a rocking good time.

In one sense, putting governmental officials directly on a bioethics commission increases the likelihood that its recommendations might be implemented by the government. On the other hand, there is a striking lack of public participation on the part of any members of the public at all–whether they be the ivory tower, academic kind or the lay public. In my view, bioethics commissions–if governments are to have them at all–ought to be constituted by the persons who understand the issues the best. I doubt seriously that bureaucrats from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture will be such people. Perhaps the sole philosopher appointed to the Ghanaian committee can keep the enterprise on track, but I’m not hopeful.

But I was when I read the headline and saw that bioethics had risen to the federal level in Ghana and UNESCO had helped get it there. Let’s just hope the bureaucracy doesn’t foul it up and that sound bioethics policy could come from a bioethics commission–for once.

Summer Johnson, PhD