House of Lords rejects move to ban creation of human-animal embryos

Published: 2008-01-17

LONDON (CNS) -- The House of Lords has rejected a move to ban the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for research. Lord Alton, a Catholic, introduced the amendment during a Jan. 15 debate on the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill. The amendment sought to forbid the mixing of human gametes with animal gametes to bring about the creation of an interspecies embryo, or to keep or use an interspecies embryo. The amendment was defeated after the government forced Labor Party legislators to either vote in favor of the legislation or face disciplinary action. The government intends to license scientists to create embryos that are 99.9 percent human and 0.1 percent cow or rabbit. The bill also would allow research on hybrids created by mixing animal and human sperm and eggs, embryos created by adding animal DNA to human embryos, and embryos created by adding animal cells to a human embryo. The embryos would be destroyed within 14 days of their creation. The House of Commons will vote on the bill in February; it could become law later this year.

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