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Social Issues Committee of the American Society of Human Genetics*

Recommendations to the Society

The committee was charged to recommend procedures bywhich the
Society could responsibly exercise its scientific and professional expertise
in advising various official bodies, and the public at large, about social issues
in which human genetics plays a prominent role, Many members feel that we
can hardly evade the responsibility to communicate such advice on important.
questions. However, scientific and professional communication among its
members is the basic purpose of the society and many have expressed their con-
cern about the public advertisement of policy position that would be difficult to
authenticate as the considered concensus of the Society as a whole. Further-
more, some of the most important issues to which human geneticists can make
important contributions also require a broader range of insight and expertise
than automatically follow from our technical qualifications.

For these reasons, we propose that the Society communicate its expert ad-
vice through a body already established with broader authority, reputation, and
experience in dealing with scientific policy questions. We have in mind specifi-
cally the National Academy of Sciences, and its existing Board on Medicine and
Committee on Life Sciences and Public Policy.

We propose that the Society establish an Advisory Committee on Public
Issues in Human Genetics. This should be a\standing committee of 10 members
having overlapping terms of 5 years (in the steady state). The initial member-
ship and ensuing vacancies shall be by appointment by the President acting on the
advice of the Board of Directors. To facilitate expeditious action by the Com-
mittee, a quorum of five members can act for it, and the Committee can es-
tablish its own by-laws. The chairman of the Committee will be chosen annually.-—
from its members, by the President on the advice of the Board of Directors,
The Committee shall keep the Society's officers informed, periodically of its
actions, and report to the membership annually at the regular meeting. It is
also charged to formulate its own further procedures for informing the member-
ship and responding to their concerns and suggestions.

The Committee shall formulate those publicissues that require further study
calling for policy recommendations, and transmit these to the Academy as topics
for specific studies to be implemented by the Academy, It will also recommend
experts qualified to deal with specific technical problems. It will attempt to
solicit parallel lines of consultation from other professional societies who
share our concerns, .

The Committee will also recommend to the Board of Directors means of ex-
tending public understanding of controversial issues, ad hoc studies, symposia
under society membership and @ similar activities, It may make public reports
on these activities upon authorization by the Board of Directors of the Society.
However, it will not issue public statements on its own initiative. Individual

» members may, of course, do so in their own name.

As a trial example of a proposal, we append a statement on the problems of
large-scale screening for metabolic defects in newborn children. This issue
clearly deserves the interest of pediatricians and many other groups as well as
of human geneticists.

*Members: Bearn, Childs, Crow, Glass, Graham, Lederberg, Lerner,
Motulsky (Chairman), and Neel,