As the present and projected impact of biotechnology continues to expand, so does the import of bioethics and the necessity to support humanist values in the biopolitical debate. The field of bioethics encompasses numerous issues, including the use of condoms and family planning in HIV/AIDS prevention and global development, the legality of stem cell research, the accessibility and direction of long-term biotechnological developments in physiological, psychological, and reproductive healthcare, and the overall freedom of inquiry afforded to medical science. Religious conservatives have recognized the importance of bioethics and have adjusted their intellectual and political infrastructures accordingly. Corporate entities with significant profit interests in these matters have never been timid in exercising their political influence. If the application of biotechnology is to be guided by reason and science, and if its potential is to be realized in the interests of global welfare and human rights, then the proponents of humanist values have to actively engage in the intellectual and political spheres of bioethics. The Inaugural Conference of the IHEUAppignani Center for Bioethics, conducted adjacent to the headquarters of the United Nations, marks a significant development in the participation of the International Humanist and Ethical Union in the important area of bioethics.

Biotechnological developments raise a variety of ethical questions that compel us to reexamine our traditional morals and how they now apply to novel circumstances. Such questions include:

• Should independent scientists or partisan politicians determine the topics of scientific investigation and the extent of public access to scientific conclusions?

• Should sectarian views influence public policy on health and science?

• How should research funding be allocated? Should the developing countries invest in enhancement while millions of people within their local populations lack basic health insurance or primary care? Should developed countries invest in relatively short prolongations of life while billions of people around the world lack adequate healthcare?

• Who owns bio-scientific knowledge? Can the international community negotiate norms of intellectual property that strike the appropriate balance between, on the one hand, the commercial interest in copyrighting and controlling medical and bio-scientific data, and, on the other hand, the compelling public interest in free and open access?

• What constitutes being or not being alive? When does life begin and end?

• What is the ethical position on stem cell research?

Prenatal diagnosis? Genetic engineering? Organ procurement and transplantation? Contraception and abortion?

• Is nuclear transfer technology, or cloning, morally objectionable at all times? For research purposes? Reproduction? With sentient animals? Humans?

• Would extensive applications of projected biotechnological capabilities lead to unprecedented breakthroughs in human well-being? A "Brave New World" style dystopia?

Inaugural Conference

In the interest of addressing these complex questions with careful analysis and ethical consideration, devoid of dogma or over-simplification, the IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics hosted its inaugural conference this April in New York City. As a conference grounded in humanist values, several themes were evident, including the defense of free scientific inquiry, an ideal of ethical universalism or cosmopolitism, and a reason-based response to religious bioethics and bio-conservatives. Considering bioethical issues from a humanist perspective entails basing one's moral framework on science and rationality rather than faith, and on core values such as freedom, autonomy, responsibility and solidarity without resorting to an appeal to the supernatural. The questions of whether these aspects of humanist thought have helped resolve bioethical disagreements and whether there might be viable alternatives to them was left open for discussion throughout the conference.

The conference assisted the development of a humanist analysis of bioethics and a consensus within the humanist community on what positions should be taken in the Center's lobbying efforts at the UN and elsewhere. The conference featured specialists including bioethicists, lawyers, policy-makers, humanist activists, scientific researchers and practitioners and researchers, from around the world in an international and trans-cultural discussion. With its standard-setting work and unique cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary intellectual forums, the conference confirmed the Center's international role in bioethics and reflected the international dimensions of current debates. As such, this inaugural conference heralded a bright future for the use of reason and science-rather than prejudice and superstition-in addressing the pressing biomedical issues of the next century. A selection of the papers presented at the Conference are posted on IHEU's website at www.iheu.org/bioethics

Dr. Ana Lita