Congressional Freak Show

Human Chimera Prohibition Act

Once again the conservative right wing-dings have wasted precious time and resources on legislation (this is so scary) to prevent US researchers from developing embryos that use both human and animal material. In other words to prevent the blending of species so we won’t see Satyrs, Griphons, Mermaids, Fauns, Minotaurs, Centaurs, etc. Kinda sounds like some one passed around a copy of "The Island of Dr. Moreau," the 1896 novel by H.G. Wells and they thought it was non-fiction.

"What was once only science fiction is now becoming a reality, and we need to ensure that experimentation and subsequent ramifications do not outpace ethical discussion and societal decisions," Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) said last year when he introduced similar legislation. "History does not look kindly on those who violate the dignity of the human person."

Great Britain IS experimenting with hybrids now. We will also have to watch the Far Eastern countries and Canada to see what develops as they also have approved hybrid research. So I will have to keep watching to see if these researchers are finding cures for diseases or creating hybrid armies to take over the world.

One big question is what constitutes a human hybrid? If I have a pig’s heart valve transplanted into my heart, am I then a hybrid? If we infect a mouse with a human blood borne pathogen to try and find a cure, should that mouse be considered a hybrid and the experiment outlawed? And if a human embryo is actually fertilized by a monkey, gestates, and is born, would destroying the animal/human be considered murder, genocide, or euthanasia? How likely is it that science could actually create another species by blending together their DNA? Hey, maybe some hanky panky took place millions of years ago between two species that actually could produce offspring and voila, that hybrid is now called a human. The possibilities are endless………….

There are 19 Republicans and one Democrat (Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana) who have sponsored the bill. I lived in Louisiana when I was a Senior in High School. Our house backed up to a bayou. Most of what I observed coming from the swamp was snakes…although they might have had legs…and wait a minute, I remember hearing a faint voice calling help meeeeeeee.