A report
Chimaeras are living organisms incorporating cells from at least two different individuals. For a number of decades researchers have been developing chimaeras by moving cells – and whole organs – from one individual to another.
With the creation of human-animal chimaeras, research compels us to pose questions of one of the conditions of life we have hitherto taken for granted. We normally think of animals and human beings as two distinctly discrete categories, and the borderline between humans and animals is fundamental to our culture and legislation. Human beings are covered by far more comprehensive protective considerations than animals, which among other things can be made part of medical experiments associated with certain risks, be put down, kept as pets and eaten. Virtually no country, including Denmark, has legislation covering creatures that are not either animals or human beings.
Will parts of the chimera research presently being conducted potentially lead to the creation of individuals that are changed in morally significant ways? Will chimaera research be capable of producing crossbreeds that cannot be classified as either animals or humans? Could we end up with individuals we would not know how to treat?
The Danish Council of Ethics and the Danish Ethical Council for Animals urge politicians to take steps to modify current regulation to ensure that chimeras difficult to place biologically, ethically and legally will not be created.
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