The animal-human hybrid "craze"

Friday, February 3. 2006

The animal-human hybrid "craze"

This story from Monsters and Critics is supposed to be funny, but I find it frustrating and sad. It seems that this statement from Bush's State of the Union, has sparked a "craze":

"Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos."

It is an excellent statement that caught many Americans unaware because most Americans (Catholics included) are grossly ill-informed on what is going on in research labs all over the world. I have written before on the use of animal eggs for human cloning and the creation of cow-human hybrids. Apparently, some (dare I say ignorant) people think it is something to make light of:

The statement has provoked ridicule on the internet and on the popular television news spoof 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' - testimony to how closely the American public follows the annual speech.
Technorati.com, a website that measures Internet traffic, listed 'human-animal hybrid' as its second most popular search term. On the day after the speech, more people searched for the phrase than in the previous year combined, according to the site.
Only hours after Bush concluded his remarks, an online apparel store had already designed a T-shirt showing a monkey wearing a tie.
'Help President Bush raise awareness about these terrible half- man/half beast creatures by wearing this T-shirt and exposing the horrible truth about human-animal hybrids,' the come-on pitch says.

I am speechless.

Posted by Rebecca Taylor in Animal-human hybrid at 15:17 | Comments (4) | Trackback (1)

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How much animal-human mix is too much?
This is a great article on the issue surrounding the animal-human hybrid or a chimera. Pres. Bush's statement calling for a ban on the creation of chimeras has stirred a debate. Unfortunately, this issue is not clear cut. Here is why:Backers of this br

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I get hope from the fact that people heard and researched what they heard.

#1 Beverly (Homepage) on 2006-02-05 01:04 (Reply)

Rebecca, I'd like to see a ban on cloning and the creation of genetically altered human embryos, like they did in Canada last year --- with major criminal and civil penalties for those who violated the law. That law has also been viewed a compromise, because allows the creation of embryos for IVF ONLY and it prohibits the creation of embryos for any other purpose. What would you think about such legislation in the US?

#2 Linda MacDonald Glenn on 2006-02-06 17:19 (Reply)

Linda,
Great minds think alike. Steven from Spinal Confusion asked me a similar question recently. Here is my reply:

"As a Catholic I find IVF in direct conflict with the dignity of the human person, specifically the idea that children are "products" of technology instead of precious gifts, so ideally I would want IVF to become a thing of the past.

But, as I would support any limit on abortion, I would support a law that would put restictions on the number of embryos created in the IVF process. Ideally, the law would allow for only one embryo to be created and implanted at a time."

So, yes a restriction on the creation of embryos for any purpose other than IVF would be great.

#2.1 Rebecca on 2006-02-06 17:40 (Reply)

Linda,
I would add that with our Congress that can't agree on anything and is painfully slow (they should have addressed these issues years ago), I am not holding my breath!

#2.2 Rebecca on 2006-02-06 17:50 (Reply)

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