Human-Animal Hybrids: Are We Playing God?

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Human-Animal Hybrids: Are We Playing God?"

April Russell
6 years ago
Views:

1 Human-Animal Hybrids: Are We Playing God? The Moral Issues Surrounding the Creation of Human-Animal Hybrids for Medical Research

2 Teaching the Faith with Current Events Human-Animal Hybrids: Are We Playing God? Overview The National Institutes of Health recently anounced a proposal to lift the year-old moratorium on the creation of human-animal hybrids, or chimeras, for medical research. Some scientists hope to insert human embryonic stem cells into animal embryos in order to map human diseases in animals, develop treatments and cures, and grow human organs for transplant. Other scientists oppose this research because of its ethical and moral implications. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has decried the proposal of the NIH and called for the ban to remain in effect. Links NIH Plans to Lift Ban on Research Funds for Part- Human, Part-Animal Embryos NPR.org What Are Human-Animal Chimeras, and Why Are They Problematic? Catholic News Agency.com Given these ethical and moral issues, what does the Catholic Church teach regarding the care and use of human embryonic stem cells and the creation of human-animal hybrids? How should scientists and medical researchers use the guidance of the Church in their work? This month s Teaching the Faith with Current Events elesson examines these issues in the light of Catholic teaching. By analyzing excerpts from Donum Vitae and Dignitas Personae and related information, students can begin to form a basic moral foundation that will help them answer these challenging questions of modern biomedical ethics.

3 Suggested Readings (For High School): What Respect is Due to the Human Embryo, Taking into Account His Nature and Identity? (Donum Vitae 1) The human being must be respected - as a person - from the very first instant of his existence. The implementation of procedures of artificial fertilization has made possible various interventions upon embryos and human foetuses [unborn babies]. The aims pursued are of various kinds: diagnostic and therapeutic, scientific and commercial. From all of this, serious problems arise. Can one speak of a right to experimentation upon human embryos for the purpose of scientific research? What norms or laws should be worked out with regard to this matter? The response to these problems presupposes a detailed reflection on the nature and specific identity - the word "status" is used - of the human embryo itself. At the Second Vatican Council, the Church for her part presented once again to modern man her constant and certain doctrine according to which: "Life once conceived, must be protected with the utmost care; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes" Thus the fruit of human generation, from the first moment of its existence, that is to say from the moment the zygote [the new developing individual produced by the union of two cells from two parents] has formed, demands the unconditional respect that is morally due to the human being in his bodily and spiritual totality. The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life. This doctrinal reminder provides the fundamental criterion for the solution of the various problems posed by the development of the biomedical sciences in this field: since the embryo must be treated as a person, it must also be defended in its integrity, tended and cared for, to the extent possible, in the same way as any other human being as far as medical assistance is concerned. Attempts at Hybridization (Dignitas Personae nos. 33) 33. Recently animal oocytes [an egg before maturation] have been used for reprogramming the nuclei of human somatic cells this is generally called hybrid cloning in order to

4 extract embryonic stem cells from the resulting embryos without having to use human oocytes. From the ethical standpoint, such procedures represent an offense against the dignity of human beings on account of the admixture of human and animal genetic elements capable of disrupting the specific identity of man. The possible use of the stem cells, taken from these embryos, may also involve additional health risks, as yet unknown, due to the presence of animal genetic material in their cytoplasm [the material within a cell]. To consciously expose a human being to such risks is morally and ethically unacceptable.

5 For All Students Attitude Inventory: Directions: Before reading the documents or news articles, answer the attitude inventory with a partner. Place a check on the line next to each decision/action you find morally acceptable. Then discuss with your partner or as a class why you did or did not check each statement. 1. Your cousin is very sick and needs a kidney transplant. Your aunt donates one of her kidneys to save his life. 2. Your cousin is very sick and needs a kidney transplant. One of his friends blackmails a distant relative into donating a kidney against her will. 3. Doctors are frustrated that there are diseases they don t know much about. Many people die of these diseases every year. So they can learn more about the diseases, the Nazis do experiments on human beings against their will. Those people suffer and die. 4. A family member has a disease that doctors think they could find a cure for. To find the cure, they have to destroy human embryos. 5. Your cousin is very sick and needs a kidney transplant. One of his friends kills a homeless person so the doctors can harvest his kidney and give it to your cousins.

6 For Middle School Students Discussion Questions: Directions: Read the articles NIH Plans to Lift Ban on Research Funds for Part-Human, Part Animal Embryos from NPR.org and What Are Human-Animal Chimeras, and Why Are They Problematic? from Catholic News Agency.com, and then answer the discussion questions. 1. What was announced by the federal government on August 4 th, 2016 regarding the use of human stem cells? 2. What is the National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposing? 3. In Greek mythology, a chimera is a fire breathing creature made up of parts of different animals: usually the body and head of a lion, a goat s head rising from its back, and a tail that ends in the head of a snake. Why do you think the term chimera is used to describe the human-animal hybrids some scientists want to create with these experiments? 4. A moratorium is a temporary ban or suspension of some activity. What arguments have some scientists made in favor of lifting the moratorium? 5. What are two things some scientists hope to do with these experiments? 6. Embryonic stem cells are human cells that are able to grow into any other human cell type. While they are thought to be versatile and useful by many scientists in the study and treatment of many diseases, their collection requires the destruction of a human embryo, and thus, the intentional killing of a human being. The Pontifical Academy for Life stated in 2000 that a living human embryo is a human subject from the moment of conception, a teaching the Catholic Church has always held. Therefore, what does every living human embryo have the right to and what violates that right? 7. What role would embryonic stem cells play in the proposed NIH funded humananimal hybrid experiments? 8. Morally speaking, how are acts that critically and irremediably (in other words, severely and permanently) harm the human embryo to be understood? 9. Why does the creation of human-animal hybrids, or chimeras, create ethical problems?

7 10. What conditions did the National Catholic Bioethics Center set forth for the use of non-embryonic (induced pluripotent) stem cells in research?

8 For High School Students Discussion Questions Part 1: Directions: Read the article NIH Plans to Lift Ban on Research Funds for Part-Human, Part Animal Embryos from NPR.org, and then answer the discussion questions. 1. What was announced by the federal government on August 4 th, 2016 regarding the use of human stem cells? 2. What is the National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposing? 3. In Greek mythology, a chimera is a fire breathing creature made up of parts of different animals: usually the body and head of a lion, a goat s head rising from its back, and a tail that ends in the head of a snake. Why do you think the term chimera is used to describe the human/animal hybrids some scientists want to create with these experiments? 4. A moratorium is a temporary ban or suspension of some activity. Why did the NIH impose a moratorium on these experiments in September of 2015? What are two examples of this reason for the moratorium? 5. What arguments have some scientists made in favor of lifting the moratorium? 6. What are two things some scientists hope to do with these experiments? 7. What restrictions has the NIH proposed to address the ethical concerns? 8. The NIH has also proposed forming a special committee of government officials as an extra layer of review for experiments. What are two examples of situations this committee would review? 9. What reasons does the associate director for science policy of the NIH, Carrie Wolinetz, give for making sure this research progresses? 10. Not all scientists are in favor of lifting this moratorium. Many oppose this sort of research and experimentation. Stuart Newman, a biologist at New York Medical College, compares these experiments to science fiction stories like Frankenstein. What does he say about whether or not scientists should be conducting this research?

9 Discussion Questions Part 2: Directions: Next, read the article What Are Human-Animal Chimeras, and Why Are They Problematic? from Catholic News Agency.com, and then answer the discussion questions. 1. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops responded to the proposal by the National Institutes of Health by saying it would be impossible to determine one s moral obligation toward the organism. Why would this be impossible? 2. Embryonic stem cells are human cells that are able to grow into any other human cell type. While they are thought to be versatile and useful by many scientists in the study and treatment of many diseases, their collection requires the destruction of a human embryo, and thus, the intentional killing of a human being. The Pontifical Academy for Life stated in 2000 that a living human embryo is a human subject from the moment of conception, a belief the Catholic Church has always held. Therefore, what does every living human embryo have the right to and what violates that right? 3. What role would embryonic stem cells play in the proposed NIH funded humananimal hybrid experiments? 4. Why did the National Catholic Bioethics Center state that using stem cells of human embryos for research is wrong? 5. Morally speaking, how are acts that critically and irremediably (in other words, severely and permanently) harm the human embryo to be understood? 6. Why does the creation of human-animal hybrids, or chimeras, create even more ethical problems? 7. The National Catholic Bioethics Center said human-animal chimera research may only be considered acceptable by using induced pluripotent stem cells under certain conditions. (Induced pluripotent stem cells are adult human stem cells that have been transformed into cells similar to embryonic stem cells. They do not involve the destruction of a human embryo.) What are two conditions they set forth? 8. What is the Dickey amendment? Why are there legal concerns involving it in relation to this proposed research?

10 Reflection Questions (For Middle School) Directions: Considering all that you ve read and learned in this lesson, answer the following reflection questions. 1. Look back at your answers to the attitude inventory. Would you change any of your responses? Why or why not? 2. Does the fact that scientists who support this type of research may have good intentions make the research morally right? Explain why or why not. 3. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that A good intention (for example, that of helping one's neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just. The end does not justify the means. Thus the condemnation of an innocent person cannot be justified as a legitimate means of saving the nation (1753). We often hear about trying to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Yet the Church teaches that killing one person would still be wrong, even if that one murder saved millions from death. What is your response to this teaching? What does this teaching show about the value of human life? 4. Imagine that someone close to you was very ill and close to dying. There was a chance that a cure for her illness existed, though the cure was not guaranteed. In order to find this potential cure, another healthy, innocent person would have to be killed. Would you support their murder? What similar moral principles exist between this imaginary situation, the collection of human embryonic stem cells and the creation of human-animal hybrids for medical research? 5. Why is it not morally acceptable to place a higher value on one human life over another human life? 6. The Church suggests that human-animal chimeras may disrupt the specific identity of man. What do you think is meant by the identity of man? Is a human being s identity simply something that person creates in his or her mind, or is there something unique and special about our DNA? Explain. 7. It is entirely possible that in the near future, tax-payer money will be used to fund experiments that create animal-human hybrids, making all of the ethical and moral concerns addressed in this lesson an even more personal reality. What are some practical things you can do to uphold the truth regarding the dignity of human life from conception to natural death?

11 Reflection Questions (For High School) Directions: Read the excerpts from Donam Vitae and Dignitas Personae, and then, considering all that you ve read and learned in this lesson, answer the following reflection questions. 1. Look back at your answers to the attitude inventory. Would you change any of your responses? Why or why not? 2. According to Donum Vitae, what is the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the respect and treatment of human embryos? 3. How does this teaching form the fundamental criterion or the foundation to many of the ethical and moral problems encountered in the biomedical sciences (and especially regarding issues of the use of human embryonic stem cells and the creation of human-animal hybrids for medical research)? 4. According to the document Dignitas Personae, why are attempts at hybridization an offense against the dignity of human beings? 5. Does the fact that scientists who support this type of research may have good intentions make the research morally right? Explain why or why not. 6. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that A good intention (for example, that of helping one's neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just. The end does not justify the means (1753). How can you connect this teaching to what you read Donum Vitae? 7. The Catechism continues, Thus the condemnation of an innocent person cannot be justified as a legitimate means of saving the nation (1753). We often hear about trying to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Yet the Church teaches that killing one person would still be wrong, even if that one murder saved millions from death. What is your response to this teaching? What does this teaching show about value of human life? 8. Imagine that someone close to you was very ill and close to dying. There was a chance that a cure for her illness existed, though the cure was not guaranteed. In order to find this potential cure, another healthy, innocent person would have to be killed. Would you support their murder? What similar moral principles exist between this imaginary situation, the collection of human embryonic stem cells and the creation of human-animal hybrids for medical research?

12 9. Why is it not morally acceptable to place a higher value on one human life over another human life? 10. The Church suggests that human-animal chimeras may disrupt the specific identity of man. What do you think is meant by the identity of man? Is a human being s identity simply something that person creates in his or her mind, or is there something unique and special about our DNA? Explain. 11. It is entirely possible that in the near future, tax-payer money will be used to fund experiments that create animal-human hybrids, making all of the ethical and moral concerns addressed in this lesson an even more personal reality. What are some practical things you can do to uphold the truth regarding the dignity of human life from conception to natural death?

13 Suggested Answers (Middle School) Discussion Questions: 1. Plans to lift a moratorium on funding certain controversial experiments that use human stem cells to create animal embryos that are partly human. 2. A new policy to permit scientists to get federal money (i.e. tax payer money) to make embryos, known as chimeras, under certain carefully monitored conditions. 3. A chimera is made of parts of many animals, just as the results of these experiments would be part human and part animal. 4. They could take steps to address ethical concerns, and that the experiments and creation of embryos provide invaluable tools for medical research. 5. Create animal models of human diseases, which could lead to new ways of treating and preventing illness. They also hope to produce human hearts, kidneys, livers, pancreases, and other human organs inside of sheep, pigs, and cows to use for transplants. 6. Every living human embryo has the right to its own life. Every intervention which is not in favor of the embryo is an act that violates that right. 7. Human embryonic stem cells would be injected into animal embryos with the hope of creating human characteristics in the resulting organism for the purposes of study and medical testing. 8. As gravely immoral and gravely illicit (unlawful and not permitted). 9. The very existence of such an organism blurs the line between humanity and animals. Therefore, the moral obligation towards such a creature such as whether or not it is permissible to destroy it is unclear. 10. The research must not involve the replication of major pillars of human identity in the brain systems of animals, and it cannot result in the growth of human reproductive cells in animals, and if that occurs, the creature if it is an animal should never be permitted to breed.

14 Suggested Answers (High School) Discussion Questions Part 1: 1. Plans to lift a moratorium on funding certain controversial experiments that use human stem cells to create animal embryos that are partly human. 2. A new policy to permit scientists to get federal money (i.e. tax payer money) to make embryos, known as chimeras, under certain carefully monitored conditions. 3. A chimera is made of parts of many animals, just as the results of these experiments would be part human and part animal. 4. Because of ethical concerns. One example is that scientists might accidentally create animals that have partly human brains, which might give them some semblance of human consciousness or thinking ability. Another example is that these hybrid creatures could develop into animals with human sperm and eggs and breed, producing human embryos or fetuses inside animals or hybrid creatures. 5. They could take steps to prevent the outcomes from question 4, and that the experiments and creation of embryos provide invaluable tools for medical research. 6. Create animal models of human diseases, which could lead to new ways of treating and preventing illness. They also hope to produce human hearts, kidneys, livers, pancreases, and other human organs inside of sheep, pigs, and cows to use for transplants. 7. Prohibiting the introduction of certain types of human cells into embryos of nonhuman primates, such as monkeys and chimps, at even earlier stages of development than what was currently prohibited, because these animals are so closely related to humans. 8. The creation of animals with human brain cells or human brain tissue to study neurological conditions such as Alzheimer s or Parkinson s diseases in order to prevent the substantial contribution or modification of an animal s brain. Another example would be the creation of animals with human sperm and human eggs to study human development and infertility in order to take steps to prevent the animals from breeding. 9. She says it is very important to our understanding of disease and it s important to the NIH s mission to improve human health. 10. we just can t say that since it s possible then let s do it.

15 Discussion Questions Part 2: 1. It would be impossible to tell one s moral obligation if it is unclear whether the resulting organism has human status or characteristics. 2. Human embryonic stem cells would be injected into animal embryos with the hope of creating human characteristics in the resulting organism for the purposes of study and medical testing. 3. President Bush stopped federal funding because of moral concerns about the destruction of human embryos in the research. Funding was restored under the Obama administration. 4. Because human beings at these vulnerable stages must be safeguarded, not exploited, in both clinical and research settings. 5. Every living human embryo has the right to its own life. Every intervention which is not in favor of the embryo is an act that violates that right. 6. As gravely immoral and gravely illicit (unlawful and not permitted). 7. The very existence of such an organism blurs the line between humanity and animals. Therefore, the moral obligation towards such a creature such as whether or not it is permissible to destroy it is unclear. 8. The research must not involve the replication of major pillars of human identity in the brain systems of animals, and it cannot result in the growth of human reproductive cells in animals, and if that occurs, the creature if it is an animal should never be permitted to breed. 9. The Dickey amendment is a law that forbids the use of federal funds to create human embryos for research purposes or to support any part of a research project in which a human embryo is destroyed, discarded, or subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that permitted for research involving live children in their mother s wombs. The proposal by the NIH to use federal funding to create humananimal hybrids for research purposes using human embryonic stem cells is in clear violation of this law.

Andrew Burnett, PhD DeGroot Center, Sanford Health Ethics & Humanities Section, SSOM USD

Stem Cells in Context Andrew Burnett, PhD DeGroot Center, Sanford Health Ethics & Humanities Section, SSOM USD Overview Basic science of stem cells Some possible biomedical applications The federal funding