MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: National Bioethics Commission created

The body -replacing previous entities with overlapping roles- will be chaired by Health Minister Mario Lugones

The Argentine government has officially established the National Bioethics Commission through Decree 893/2025. Operating under the Ministry of Health, this new body will serve as the country's sole regulatory authority on health-related ethical evaluations and scientific research.

 The commission was created to resolve a fragmented landscape of overlapping agencies. To streamline operations, the Libertarian Government of President Javier Milei has therefore dissolved the Research Ethics Committee and the National Advisory Committee on Research Ethics.

Additionally, the 1998 National Biomedical Ethics Commission, which was never fully operational, has been repealed.

Henceforth, the new commission will absorb the functions of these defunct bodies to act as a single, cohesive entity to address ethical, moral, and legal challenges posed by rapid scientific and technological progress.

Its duties include advising the Executive Branch on bioethical issues, setting standards for health research and the use of emerging technologies, protecting research subjects and ensuring the integrity of clinical trials, and promoting public debate and training in fields like Philosophy, Law, and Anthropology in health-related matters.

Chaired by Health Minister Mario Lugones, the commission will consist of six permanent and three alternate members, all serving ad honorem (unpaid). These will be experts from diverse fields, including ethics, health, law, and social sciences. These members will be appointed via a public and transparent selection process.

The measure also provides for the creation of the Federal Advisory Council on Research Ethics to include representatives from all provinces, in a move to standardize ethical criteria across different jurisdictions, vouch for local provincial committees, and guarantee that federal and provincial standards remain homogeneous.

The government intends for this move to provide “legal certainty and predictability” for international and domestic scientific investment. By creating a clear institutional framework, Argentina aims to align its health research and technological development with global bioethical standards.