Vatican condemns 'monstrous' work on human-animal hybrids

BY SIMON CALDWELL
THE VATICAN has described Britain's step towards legalising the creation of humananimal hybrids for destructive experimentation as a "monstrous affront against human dignity".
Bishop Elio Sgreccia, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, accused the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority of crumbling "when confronted by requests from a group of scientists" who, he said, were "absolutely against morality".
His comments came just days after the Government quango announced that it would permit in principle the use of the hybrid embryos — where human DNA is put into egg cells removed from dead cows — for research purposes.
Two teams of scientists applying for permission to carry out the experiments hope to be able to create stem cells from their work that could unlock the secrets of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. They say the technique solves the problem of finding enough good quality human eggs.
The embryos — which will be 99 per cent human and one per cent animal — will be destroyed after 14 days. A final decision from the HFEA is expected before Christmas.
Bishop Sgreccia argued, however, that the ruling represented the crossing of an important moral rubicon.
"That frontier, of the crossroads of distinct species, has been overstepped with the go-ahead of the British Government," the bishop said. "Up until now this had been banned in the field of biotechnology, and not only by religious associations."
The 79-year-old prelate said that the scientists were proposing to create monstrosities which compromised and offended human dignity.
"The policy that was approved is repugnant from an emotional point of view, but it is also irrational," Bishop Sgreccia added.
"It is necessary that the (international) scientific community mobilises itself as soon as possible," the bishop said.
Scientists have nicknamed hybrid embryos "chimeras" after the mythical Greek creature with a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail.
Catholic leaders in England and Wales have also expressed grave concern over the proposed licences.
Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff, the bishops' chairman of the Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship, said the decision was of "profound significance-.
He said: "Human beings have a unique nature specifically distinct from the natures of all other animals, and the profound ethical question is: is it right to transgress that species boundary and attempt to mix human and animal natures in however limited a fashion?"
He added: "Instead of promoting ethically problematic research into hybrid embryos, why do we not simply encourage more research into the proven and uncontro versial area of adult stem cells? The Catholic Church is not against all stem-cell research, and strongly supports such research using adult and cord blood stem cells. This has already led to major clinical benefits, whereas it appears that embryonic stem-cell research has yet to produce any."
The archbishop also ques tioned whether it was right for the HFEA to be making the ruling just two months before the Government unveils a White Paper which proposes to legalise research on chimeras.
A parliamentary committee set up to scrutinise the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill recommended in July that MPs and peers should be allowed a free vote on the issue. The move by the HFEA was also criticised by Dr Helen Watt, director of the London-based Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, an internationally respected Catholic bioethical institute.
"We cannot safely assume that this procedure will not create a real, though damaged, human embryo, who will have no human parents, and whose quasi-mother is a non-human animal," she said. "This is a further offence to the embryo whom we plan to destroy, in that its very humanity will be called into question.
"Even if there were no risk of creating a genuine human embryo, it is a form of reproductive perversion to use a human nucleus to substitute in this way for animal reproductive material. The unique dignity of the human species, for which life and reproduction have a special meaning, needs to be safeguarded."
Dr Stephen Minger, the director of stem-cell research at King's College, London, and leader of one of the teams of scientists applying for permission to use hybrid cells, said the work could "revolutionise drug discovery".
He defended his application by saying that the work was an integral part of the quest to find new drugs and therapies for devastating genetic illnesses.
"Our techniques could also be used for various forms of cancer, for cystic fibrosis, for muscular dystrophy," said Dr Minger.
"If I were someone with Alzheimer's disease, I would say: 'What are they worrying about?'
"The research is going to be tightly regulated by the HFEA. No cows are going to be killed, the cell lines are only going to be used for research and the embryos aren't going to be implanted."
Opponents of the HFEA decision are hoping that it will be subject to a High Court challenge on the basis that the quango does not have the authority to rule on the issue. Researchers in Australia and many European countries are banned from creating hybrid embryos but there have been experiments with hybrid embryos in Asia and it is legal in Canada.