"Human-Animal Hybrids and the Catholic Response"

I'm going to try to get into the habit of composing a short (2 page) bioethics essay each week:

“Recent Proposals for Human-Animal Hybrids and the Catholic Response”

One of the emerging forms of scientific embryonic stem cell research is the creation of human-animal hybrids. On September 6th, the Human Fertilisation and Embryonic Authority (HEFA) in Britain approved the creation of human-animal embryos in theory, subject only to the possible intervention of the UK’s High Court. Without an intervention, the creation of hybrid embryos by two teams of scientists could begin in the UK by the end of this year. HEFA is believed to be the first fertility regulator in the world to explicitly approve such procedures.[1]

The request for authorization of the procedure was prompted, scientists say, by the lack of human embryos for research purposes. The hybrids would be created by inserting the nucleus of a human cell into the denucleated ovum of a mammal (most likely bovine). The resulting embryo would then be destroyed fourteen days after fertilization and its cell lines analyzed. This procedure is a type of In Vitro fertilization, but its problematic moral nature goes beyond IVF.

The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), along with the Linacre Center for Healthcare Ethics issued a joint response to this proposal back in June of 2007.[2] In point four on “Inter-species embryos”, the CBCEW opposes the creation of hybrid embryos, while not definitively deciding upon whether such an organism would be human, saying instead that “If an embryo is conceived with a single animal gene, or even if a human nucleus is placed in an animal ovum, this may be compatible with the presence of a genuine human embryo following the procedure.” However, the CBCEW is also careful to point out that “embryos with a preponderance of human genes should be assumed to be embryonic human beings, and should be treated accordingly.” On this issue, the teaching of the CBCEW is similar to the Church’s common response to the practice of In Vitro fertilization: i.e., such research is immoral and not be done, but if it is done the resulting human embryo’s rights must be respected.

On September 6th, the President of the Pontifical Academy for Life Elia Sgreccia gave an interview to Vatican Radio in which he described the creation of hybrids as a “monstrous act which is against human dignity.” His claim is spelled-out in a document released by the Linacre Centre in response to the Government’s proposal. When discussing the wrong done to the dignity of human life in the case of embryos created through IVF, the Linacre Centre states:

Serious as these wrongs are, there is an additional wrong in the case of animal-human hybrids, in that the embryo’s dignity is violated by the very structure of its creation … the embryo made from animal components is still further alienated from any possibility of parental respect or protection, in that this embryo may have literally no human parents.[3]

The Linacre Centre also admits the possibility that hybrid embryos may not, in fact, be human embryos. Nonetheless, even non-human embryos created with component human genetic material would still offend against human dignity, they claim. In an interview rebroadcast by Vatican Radio, the director of the Linacre Centre Dr. Helen Watt elaborated that hybrid creation is offensive because the human material is being used as a substitute for animal gametes, and when humans are brought into animal reproduction it violates the dignity of the human species.[4]

Apart from the other practical considerations involved with this development, it is clear that Catholic theologians must continue to both speak out against procedures that violate human dignity while at the same time deepening and refining their own understanding of the relevant scientific data in order to provide cogent, timely teachings on hybrid embryo procedures. +++