Church of England says No to True Human Hybrids

The Mission and Public Affairs Council of the Church of England has opposed the creation of true human hybrids but given a cautious acceptance to the proposal to produce cytoplasmic hybrid embryos for research into the alleviation of serious diseases.

Cytoplasmic hybrid embryos are created by transferring the nuclei of human cells into animal eggs which has had most of its genetic material removed.

Research using human embryos donated by IVF patients, it adds, is acceptable but using human embryos created specifically for research from donated eggs and sperm is not.

The Church's rejection of true human hybrids or the creation of embryos specifically for research comes in the response of the Mission and Public Affairs Council to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority consultation on hybrids and chimeras.

It calls for the establishment of an Ethics Committee independent of HFEA/RATE to assist in the consideration of such issues.

The response takes a more open line on cloned embryos, produced using cell nuclear replacement or CNR, as with Dolly the sheep, for strictly controlled experimentation up to the 14-day limit.

The Council recognises, however, that many Christians who accept the creation of embryonic stem cells by CNR using only human material feel deeply uncomfortable about creating cytoplasmic hybrids, even for research up to 14 days.

"Given the dubious efficacy of this research and its controversial nature," the response argues, "we feel that some assurance should be given to those who are concerned about this development."

The Council said its support for the research going ahead was conditioned by two added provisos, one being the limitation of licences for such research to a period of around five years.

If it could be shown in this period that little progress could be made using cytoplasmic hybrids, "it would signal a genuine commitment to upholding the status of the embryo as defined in law if such licences were then no longer allowed to be issued," the Council stated.

The Council also called for Government assurances that if research into the dedifferentiation of differentiated cells proved successful, licences would not be issued for using embryos to obtain embryonic stem cells once these could be derived from differentiated cells.

The Church of England reaffirmed its belief that no embryo, however created, should be used, selected against or destroyed for "trivial reasons".