The Independent and The Daily Telegraph reported on 13th January that funding for two out of three of the projects that were granted research licences to create animal-human hybrids has dried up.
During the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill through Parliament in 2008, Christian Concern For Our Nation had campaigned against the legalisation of this research on ethical grounds, both because it defied the Biblical principle established during Creation and reiterated in the Mosaic Law that forbids the mixing of species and because it was unnecessary.
Parliament refused to take notice of the concerns of CCFON and other pro-life groups due to vociferous lobbying from medical research and patient groups. These groups had been told that embryonic stem cell research and research on animal-human hybrid embryos (known euphemistically as ‘admixed embryos’ in the legislation) were necessary in order to find cures for diseases, when in fact no such cures have yet been found, in contrast to the 70 or more cures that have been found using stem cells from non-embryonic sources such as skin, bone marrow or umbilical cord blood cells. Leading scientists, such as the creator of Dolly the Sheep have abandoned embryonic stem cell research in favour of more fruitful fields of research. The Bill nonetheless became an Act on 13th November 2008.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) did not wait for the argument to be concluded or the legislation passed before conducting its own consultation in early 2007 and deciding to grant licences on 9th January 2008 for research that would create animal-human hybrids.
On 9th December 2008, the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) and Comment On Reproductive Ethics (CORE) were refused permission to judicially review the decisions by the HFEA. One of CLC and CORE’s main arguments was that any public body with such important powers should be held accountable to the rule of law as it exists at the time. The High Court, however, said that human-animal hybrid embryos fitted within the definition of a ‘human’ embryo that was established in the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, despite the fact that manufacturing human-animal hybrids had not been thought of at the time. Worryingly, the court also said that the definition of what is ‘human’ depends on the facts understood by scientific knowledge at the time.
The Independent reported that the King’s College project has not yet started work due to the lack of £80,000-90,000 worth of equipment, whilst the Newcastle University project has stalled after creating 278 hybrid embryos. The researchers attributed the block on funding to ‘scientists on the funding committees who are morally opposed’ to the research. If this contention is correct, it demonstrates that the minds of these scientists have been won over by groups such as CCFON. If, on the other hand, the competition for funding from other projects that was cited by the research councils is the main reason for the block, the councils clearly did not believe the research would be scientifically useful compared to non-embryonic stem cell projects, which proves that our arguments regarding stem cells were accurate.
The reporter further bemoaned the loss of the UK’s position as leader in hybrid embryo research, which is banned in most countries and was disqualified from receiving Government funding in the United States by President Bush. The freeze on funding ‘astonished’ the co-ordinator of the campaign that supported the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
A related article in The Independent noted that ‘Opponents...say this unethical method undermines what it means to be human’, which is exactly what CCFON has been saying all along.
Interestingly, the two University departments who have insufficient funding are the ones who hired expensive lawyers to support the HFEA in the case against the CLC and CORE. The one animal-human hybrid research project that has not yet been denied funding was not involved in the HFEA case.
We believe that in bringing this challenge we were exposing the lack of transparency and accountability within the system and seeking to stand for biblical truth. We believe that by applying such pressure, we have played a part in changing the landscape.
Links to the report and articles in The Independent:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/funding-halted-for-stem-cell-research- 1332000.html
The report in The Daily Telegraph can be found here: