Bioethics ISSN 0269-9702 (print); 1467-8519 (online) Volume 19 Number 4 2005 © Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2005, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Oxford, UK and Malden, USABIOTBioethics0269-9702Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 20052005194432 446ArticlesTHE ETHICS OF BIODEFENSENICHOLAS B. KING THE ETHICS OF BIODEFENSE NICHOLAS B. KING ABSTRACT This essay reviews major areas of ethical debate with regard to biodefense, focusing on cases in which biodefense presents ethical problems that diverge from those presented by naturally-occurring outbreaks of infectious disease. It concludes with a call for ethicists to study not only the ethical issues raised in biodefense programs, but also the ethics of biodefense more generally. INTRODUCTION Biodefense is a growth industry. While the United States has had biological weapons (BW) programs operating since the 1940s, programs that were specifically aimed at preparing for a bioter- rorist attack began receiving funding during the mid-1990s. Since 2001, more than $14 billion have been spent on civilian biode- fense in the United States, with an additional $7.6 billion bud- geted for 2005. 1 Most funding has resulted from two pieces of legislation, The Public Health and Bioterrorism Response Act (PHBRA), and Project Bioshield. The PHBRA provides block grants through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the states for biodefense planning, upgrading labora- tory and communications equipment, purchasing medical sup- plies, conducting emergency response exercises, and improving epidemiologic surveillance. Project Bioshield provides $5.6 bil- lion to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for research and development of biodefense-related vaccines and therapeutics by private industry and academia. 1 A. Schuler. Billions for Biodefense: Federal Agency Biodefense Funding, FY2001-FY2005. Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science 2004; 2: 86–96.