Has bioethics matured to the point where it is capable of re-orienting the relations between science, state and bioethics in the governance of science?

To answer these questions authors Brian Salter and Alison Harvey looked at the case of the production of human/animal chimeras (i.e. genetic hybrids) in scientific research. It is not a new practice: “cytoplasmic hybrids fusing human and non-human (mouse or hamster) cells were developed in the 1960s and were used in early studies mapping the human genome” (p. 688). Yet it has only recently come under ethical scrutiny. In 2011, the UK Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) released a report entitled: ‘Animals containing human material’ (ACHM). The report had the ambition of shaping future regulation and governance of chimera use in biomedical research.

Whereas traditionally states have used bioethics to legitimise policy-making, the case of chimeras illustrates how bioethics is becoming more of a proactive player in the mediation of state, society and science. In the case human/animal chimeras, public bioethics (distinct from academic bioethics) is actively framing the problem, the debate, and hence its solutions. Bioethical bodies in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and in the EU, at large, have already expressed concern and interest in the issue.

What makes current and future trends in the use of human/animal chimeras even more ethically problematic is the fact that it combines existing controversial features of scientific research: genetic modification (GM) and human embryonic stem cells (HESC). Although the introduction of human elements in animals - such as mice - are unlikely to raise issues of animal welfare, there remains the everlasting conflict of values over the ‘natural’ and the ‘unnatural’. Combined with the ethical dilemma of using of embryonic stem cells, human/animal chimeras become rather problematic.

As a solution the AMS report puts forward the concept of ‘human dignity’, arguing that respect for ‘human dignity’ may serve as the ultimate guideline in the production of chimeras, by neatly addressing both the issue of GM and HESCs. It also assures that a tight leash is kept on science and the extent to which chimeras can be made ‘human-like’. Finally, such a solution welcomes bioethics, but continues to preserve its political neutrality.

To read the full paper click here. 

This blog post originally appeared on the Global Biopolitics Research Centre blog on  15 June 2015.