June 7, 2021

US Senate Votes Down Legislation Banning Creation of Experimental Human/Animal Hybrid Embryos

On May 27, the US Senate voted down pro-life legislation that would have banned experiments designed to create human-animal hybrid embryos.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced the legislation as an amendment to the Endless Frontier Act. It was co-sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). The amendment failed after a 49-48 vote.

This amendment to the Endless Frontier Act would have banned the creation of human-animal chimeras (organisms that contain both human cells and cells from an animal). If the amendment was written into law, researchers attempting to make human-animal chimeras, transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb, or transfer a human embryo into a non-human womb could have faced up to 10 years in jail and/or a fine of at least one million dollars.

“Human life is distinct and sacred, and research that creates an animal-human hybrid or transfers a human embryo into an animal womb or vice versa should be completely prohibited, and engaging in such unethical experiments should be a crime,” said Senator Braun in a statement.

National Right to Life and many other pro-life organizations endorsed the proposed amendment.

This issue has become more important recently, as scientists recently created the first-ever human/monkey embryos. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health is considering whether it will dissolve a rule which bans scientists from keeping human embryos alive for lab testing for more than 14 days.

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