Catholic Bishops Say Human / Animals Mix Clones Should be Allowed to Live

wvpeach · #1 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 12:47 PM

Animals Mix Clones Should be Allowed to Live

Chimera embryos have right to life, say bishops - Telegraph

Chimera embryos have right to life, say bishops
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:03am BST 27/06/2007

Have your say Read comments

Embryonic stem cells explained
Human-animal hybrid embryos conceived in the laboratory - so-called “chimeras” - should be regarded as human and their mothers should be allowed to give birth to them, the Roman Catholic Church said yesterday.

Under draft Government legislation to be debated by Parliament later this year, scientists will be given permission for the first time to create such embryos for research as long as they destroy them within two weeks.

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But the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, in a submission to the Parliamentary joint committee scrutinising the draft legislation, said that the genetic mothers of “chimeras” should be able to raise them as their own children if they wished.

The bishops said that they did not see why these “interspecies” embryos should be treated any differently than others.

The wide-ranging draft Human Tissue and Embryo Bill, which aims to overhaul the laws on fertility treatment, will include sections on test tube babies, embryo research and abortion. Ministers say that the creation of animal-human embryos - created by injecting animal cells or DNA into human embryos or human cells into animal eggs - will be heavily regulated.

They insist that it will be against the law to implant “chimeras” - named after the mythical creature that was half man and half animal - into a woman’s womb.

The bishops, who believe that life begins at conception, said that they opposed the creation of any embryo solely for research, but they were also anxious to limit the destruction of such life once it had been brought into existence.

In their submission to the committee, they said: “At the very least, embryos with a preponderance of human genes should be assumed to be embryonic human beings, and should be treated accordingly.

“In particular, it should not be a crime to transfer them, or other human embryos, to the body of the woman providing the ovum, in cases where a human ovum has been used to create them.

“Such a woman is the genetic mother, or partial mother, of the embryo; should she have a change of heart and wish to carry her child to term, she should not be prevented from doing so.”

The draft Bill will also allow the screening of embryos for genetic or chromosomal abnormalities that might lead to serious medical conditions, disabilities, or miscarriage. It will permit doctors to check whether an embryo could provide a suitable tissue match for a sibling suffering from a life-threatening illness.

The Bill would abolish the requirement for fertility clinics to consider the need for a father when deciding on treatment. This means clinics will no longer be able to deny treatment to lesbians and single mothers.

The Catholic bishops said that most of the procedures covered by the Bill “should not be licensed under any circumstances”, principally on the grounds that they violate human rights.

wvpeach · #2 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 12:48 PM

What do you think?

I think the Bishops missed the point.

We should not be creating human animal mixes.

Then there would be no debate about aborting or killing them.

wvpeach · #3 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 12:50 PM

Would you abort this?

Medipedia.com - Human-Animal Babies

Human-Animal Babies
Tags: medical research, cutting edge

British regulators at the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority have approved two proposals that would allow scientists to create human-animal embryos for stem cell research. Scientists are pursuing embryonic stem cell research in order to find effective treatments for diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

These mixed cell embryos, also known as chimeras, would be 99.9 percent human and 0.1 percent animal. The embryos are being created in order to harvest them for stem cells. While many scientists cite the importance of stem cell research, many others are concerned about the ethics of mixing human cells and animal cells.

The human-animal embryos created in this research would not be allowed to develop for more than two weeks. In an odd twist, however, Bishops in the Catholic Church, who believe life begins at conception, have come out and said that women who have donated eggs should be allowed to have their babies placed in-vitro rather than killed, even though they oppose creating life solely for research.

Within the scientific community, this type of research is becoming more common. Just last year, scientists at the University of Nevada created a sheep with 85% animal cells and 15% human cells, in the pursuit of creating organs for human use. At Stanford University, researchers have created mice with brains that are 1% human, in order to study brain diseases. In 2003, Chinese scientists successfully fused human cells with rabbit eggs. Most people already accept the use of heart valves from cows and pigs for human use, which makes the recipient a human-animal chimera. For years, scientists have added human genes to bacteria and farm animals.

While the biological creation of chimeras is no longer just another science fiction story, the United States does not yet have federal laws in place that address these issues. You can expect there to be quite a debate about how to establish a reasonable balance between research and ethics in science.

wvpeach · #4 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 12:53 PM

Pigs with human blood. Mice with human brains.

Animal-Human Hybrids No Longer a Myth

Human-animal combination isn’t happening just in other countries. In Minnesota last year, researchers at the Mayo Clinic created pigs with human blood flowing through their bodies. And later this year, an experiment is planned at Stanford University in California to create mice with human brains. The reasoning behind such experimentation is that the more humanlike the animal, the better it will perform as a research model for testing drugs, or possibly for growing "spare parts," such as livers, to transplant into humans. And since humans can’t be used as test subjects, the ability to watch human cells mature and interact in a living creature may help scientists in discovering new medical treatments and cures for chronic or terminal illnesses.

Lexi · #5 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 03:30 PM

I knew they were doing reasearch like this but never really read the whole thing before. Something to make Pale go back to his science book..

wvpeach · #6 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 04:21 PM

Its bizarre and scary Lexi.

Brings up all kinds of food for thought.

What is human? As the article says. Is a being that is 99 % human and 1 % human still a human?

Does God give them souls?

These stuff aggravates me to no end.

Man is messing with things we have no right to mess with IMHO.

nathanbforrest45 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 04:33 PM

The Island of Doctor Moreau comes to mind here.

Peach, this is one topic I would have to agree with you. I can't think of any legitimate reason to create these creatures. This sounds Hitlerian to me. And you are correct for once, don't make them and you won't have to abort them.

By the way, the Bishops are not the final word on matters of faith and morals within the Catholic Church. Personally, although I was raised Catholic and still believe in the tenets of the Church I am not sure the Bishops are Catholic or even Christian any longer.

Also, regarding your posting on voting. I see what you are saying and while I disagree that its "unchristian" to vote I understand your position. My own position is that no man is perfect, ergo no government can be perfect but each can do the best they can. I will continue to vote in an effort to get the best in office, knowing they will all come short of my beliefs. Don't vote if you believe driven to that but don't tell me I am not a Christian if I do.

PaleRider · #8 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lexi

I knew they were doing reasearch like this but never really read the whole thing before. Something to make Pale go back to his science book..

Why? Do you believe this is something that I am not aware of? I am a biochemist lexi. Science is how I make my living. I read the journals because it is my job to keep up.

I don't know why you would be opposed to this. It is the logical progression of events following back to roe v wade. When the court said that unborns were not living human beings they opened the door for human experimentation. How long do you think it took certain scientists to begin planning human experiments?

When you devalue human life, you allow this sort of thing to happen. If the law recognized uborns as the living human beings that they are, then the 14th amendment would prevent any such experimentation from happening as it would clearly be a violation of thier rights.