Animal Human Hybrids

Press release from CARE

06 September 2007

CARE has reacted with great concern to the decision announced by the HFEA today to back animal human hybrid research in principle.

Daniel Boucher, director of parliamentary affairs said, ‘CARE is very concerned that the HFEA has backed Animal-Human hybrid research in principle when it has no clear mandate for doing so in law and when parliament is about to bring legislative clarity to this controversial issue. This decision prejudges the parliamentary debate that will take place when the Human Tissues and Embryos bill is introduced in the new session and demonstrates no regard for the democratic process. It is very concerning that the HFEA feels so beholden to the scientific community that it is not prepared to ask researchers to wait for Parliament’s judgement and thereby respect the people and their representatives. One has the distinct feeling that our hard fought democratic traditions are being traded in for a new amoral technocracy. We are greatly impoverished because of it.’

Philippa Taylor, CARE's Bioethics Consultant continued, ‘The sense that we are being subject to rule by experts in spite of the people becomes even clearer when one considers the responses to the HFEA's three month public consultation on animal human hybrids. Out of 810 respondents 527 were against granting licenses for cytoplasmic (animal-human) hybrids and only 160 in favour. The rest were either not sure or did not respond. For pure animal-human hybrids the figures were even stronger, 550 against and only 114 in favour. Again, the rest were either not sure or did not respond. One has the clear sense that the HFEA has not only prejudged the people’s representatives, it has also ignored the people directly who responded to its own consultation. Why did it bother wasting public money on a consultation if it was not prepared to listen and act on its findings?