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William F. May, seen before his speech last night at Mary Washington College, is a member of a national board that counsels President Bush on bioethical issues. |
A member of the President's Council on Bioethics blasted the White House's policy on Medicare prescription drug benefits yesterday during a visit to Mary Washington College.
William F. May, a member of President Bush's 17-member council on bioethics, said the new policy is "mysticism of the marketplace run amok" that will mean higher prices for prescription drugs.
The council advises Bush on ethical issues related to advances in biomedical science and technology.
During the Clinton administration, May was a member of a group of experts that provided the president with recommendations on health-care policy.
During an interview prior to a lecture at MWC last night, May said the White House Medicare prescription drug package is "giving away the government's ability to negotiate with pharmaceutical houses on the price of drugs. It's terrible."
May also sharply criticized the American Association of Retired People, which backs the plan.
"The AARP is in the insurance business," he said. He said elderly people think the organization is looking out for them and "they've been had by this arrangement."
May is a highly regarded medical ethicist who has been head of the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility at Southern Methodist University. He is also a founding fellow of the Hastings Center, which deals with bioethics. He is the author of numerous books and has written about the moral and ethical obligations health-care professionals have to patients.
The President's Council on Bioethics makes policy recommendations to the White House on issues including cloning, stem-cell research, genetic manipulation of fetuses and other hot-button topics.
When the council voted 10-7 against any form of cloning research, May was one of the dissenting votes. The decision was used to support the president's policy of restricting stem-cell research to lines already set aside for that purpose.
May said he doesn't favor cloning for the purpose of having babies, but does support research "under strict regulation" that could help victims of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, diabetes and spinal cord injury. He said embryos older than 14 days should never be used.
The issue is politically charged and highly emotional, pitting those who want to protect life in the womb against those who want to save the lives of family members.
May does not share the opinion of actor Christopher Reeve, who has become an activist since he was paralyzed when thrown from a horse in 1995 in Culpeper and believes political pressure from religious conservatives is controlling medical research in America.
But he does say that religious conservatives need to understand that one valid principle can collide with another.
May said the council on bioethics was assembled to create a diversity of opinion, but to "pro- lifers everything else is whim." He called the vote on cloning a moderate decision, but one that leaves lingering questions.
He recalled what his own doctor said to him about the question of stem-cell research.
"Bill," May recounted, "if you're in a burning building with a freezer full of hundreds of pre-implanted embryos and with a 2-year-old child, and you had to pick one or the other, which would you save?"
At the time of the vote, some thought stem cells from adults might serve research purposes as effectively as fetal stem cells. But recent studies have indicated otherwise.
May emphasized that he does not think of embryos as "building material." And he said that the idea that only the rich might be able to afford the fruits of embryonic stem-cell research gives him pause.
May said he takes a middle-of-the-road approach on the question of whether terminally ill patients who are suffering--or their families--should have a choice of euthanasia.
He said he'd prefer that efforts be made to improve older patients' quality of life.
May said resources have been devoted to prolonging life rather than dealing with the suffering that takes place at advanced age.
To reach MICHAEL ZITZ: 540/374-5408 mikez@freelancestar.com
