In an assault on the dignity of human life, the Senate failed to prevent the continued creation of human-animal hybrids, called “chimeras,” created for research purposes. At present, human-animal chimera research is transpiring with limited regulation in university and private labs. New guidelines were released by the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) on how to grow chimeras. Since the National Institute of Health has yet to establish its own guidelines, it is increasingly likely the NIH will follow the international organization’s lead on these. The ISSCR has specific rules of how chimeric cells can be developed, based predominately on where and for what purpose human stem cells are being injected into nonhuman embryos, grown, and experimented on. “Breeding human-animal chimeras where there may be human germ cells” and “transferring human-animal chimeric embryo(s) to a human or ape uterus” [have historically been prohibited]. However, “in vitro culture of chimeric embryos (human cells into non-human embryos),” is not only permitted, but allowed with limited supervision, as such research is “reportable, but not typically reviewed by a specialized oversight process… (READ MORE)

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