The UK is, I believe, the first country to authotize the creation of hybrid (human-animal) embryos for research purposes. The HFEA (Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority) still wants the scientists to make individually applications for their research, but there it is - somehow we are pushing the limits. There is a large ethical debate going on in the UK about this, and a good article at bbc.com outlining the issues here. There will be benefits of this research - of that there is no doubt. But I wonder if this is not a step too far. Once we get used to the idea, what will be the next step? It will be interesting to see if other countries follow, now that the barrier is down.
The primary argument for such work is, in fact, that we'll get something useful out of it. However, I wonder if simple utilitarianism is a proper framework for our ethical decisions. Would we approve of Dr. J. Mengele's work if it had (as he vociferously promised in his day) produced useful science?
Posted by: Cajun Pauley | October 19, 2007 at 08:30 PM