I read the news today, oh boy…

The news has been released this afternoon that the Human fertilisation and Embryology Association has approved, under strict regulation, the creation of human-animal embryos for stem cell research. Read the BBC story here.

Im not a scientist, just an interested observer, but if I understand the science correctly, (with my 16+ grade c Human Biology) the host egg cell will have its nucleus removed, and will be injected with human dna, probably in the form of a skin cell. It will then be allowed to divide and grow, with the resultant embryo being 99.9% human. Embryonic stem cells can then be used for experimentation, presumably in the hope that such cells can be implanted in people with serious degenerative illnesses. Currently it is illegal to implant it in a surrogate mother, the embryonic cell cluster should be destroyed at 14 days.

I understand the desire for such work - if it helps in finding cures for degenerative and ultimately fatal illnesses such as Parkinsons, but I am also concerned. Maybe its the “eugh” factor; maybe its that all human life, however created is valuable and precious. Maybe its concern at the genetic impact that 0.1% will have - after all, genes do not work in isolation from each other - different combinations work together to provide different information for the growth and development of an organism. Humans and animals - especially mammals - share a huge amount of genetic material. Its how those genes work together which make the difference. Maybe its that this seems to be a “clone by any other name”.

Maybe part of my concern comes from living in a time when we are facing the consequences of progress: worldwide division, global warming, political oppression and powermongering, yet continuing to push the boundaries of that progress without an understanding of the impacts we will have on our world and on people for generations to come.

35 years ago, there was an outcry at human fertility experiments and creation of embryos in labs. Then Louise Brown was born in 1978. IVF is now relatively common, and a necessary part of life for many. That we have the technology and ability to provide a way for infertile adults to conceive is to be celebrated.

But I wonder how long before this becomes normal, accepted and part of everyday life? How long before someone “just wonders what would happen if” one of these embryos was implanted, even carried full term?

I have no answers, just an uneasiness. WWJD? WWJ say?