FIRST HYBRID: On Monday, the British House of Commons voted 336–176 to permit scientists to continue developing human-animal embryos as a source for stem cells.

Scientists at the University of Newcastle created the first hybrid in March. Developing these cytoplasmic hybrids will keep Britain at the leading edge of stem cell research, which scientists hope may one day lead to a cure for diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Parkinson’s.

Updating the Fertilization Laws

At the same time, Members of Parliament (MPs) voted to allow parents to genetically test their own embryos—so-called "sibling saviors"—to find a tissue match for treating sick relatives, especially those requiring bone marrow transplants. Proponents of the bill say it provides nothing that isn’t already allowed under existing law, but just updates the regulations and controls.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill—which Parliament continued discussing Tuesday—is the first update to British fertilization laws since the 1990s. The cross-party victory followed after Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave the MPs a “free vote” (see sidebar).

Although three of Brown’s own cabinet voted to ban research, the majority of the opposing cabinet (known as the shadow cabinet) voted to approve. Both Brown and the Opposition Leader, David Cameron, have children with disabilities.

UK Permits Admixed Embryos

The House still must vote on two remaining articles of the bill:

• To allow or deny fertility clinics to provide in vitro fertilization without considering the welfare of a fatherless child, thus opening the way for lesbian couples or single women to have children
• To allow or deny proposed abortion term limits, which would reduce the limit from the current 24 weeks to as low as 12 weeks.

The government provided two reasons to permit human-animal—“admixed”— embryos:

• Creating a sufficient stock of embryos for stem cell research into treatments for currently incurable diseases and genetic defects. (Human eggs are scarce and valuable but the proposed cow and rabbit eggs are readily available.)
• Keeping Great Britain, which produced the first cloned animal, at the front of stem cell research.

Scientists Divided on Stem Cell Bill

Although most UK reproductive scientists support the continuation of stem cell research, they aren’t as unified in their approval of human-animal hybrids.

Proponents: Adult stem cells are already programmed to become certain organs. Scientists need embryonic stem cells, which aren’t yet programmed, for more varied research.

Prof. Peter Braude, reproductive medicine consultant and head of the Department of Women’s Health at Kings College in London, supports the bill. “Again, this is nothing new,” Braude said. “Before ICSI—a fertility treatment for men with poor quality sperm—doctors used to test sperm by seeing if it could penetrate specially treated hamster eggs. That was creating a true human-animal hybrid, but we didn’t see ‘humsters’ running around because the law required them to be destroyed after a day.” (The Sun, 5/20/08)

Opponents: Society doesn’t have the control to resist using admixed embryos for selfish purposes.

Dr. David King, a former geneticist and founder of Human Genetics Alert, said, “This Bill is the first step along the way to creating genetically modified children—and I think the Government should come clean about where this is going.… If you grow an embryo purely for the purpose of research you separate it from that biological meaning of it being a beginning of a new life, with all the moral and ethical questions that raises.” (The Sun, 5/20/08)

Copyright © 2009 Informify

Sources

MPs back human-animal embryos (The Sydney Morning Herald, 5/21/08)

MPs back hybrid embryo research (BBC News, 5/19/08)

UK's first hybrid embryos created (BBC News 4/1/08)

Cardinals' sins (The Guardian, 5/20/08)

Question for Readers:

Do you think that producing human-animal hybrids will lead to genetically modified children?