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Arizona Senate votes to ban human-animal hybrids

Edited as of Fri 7 May 2010 - 00:31
Your rating: None Average: 4.4 (7 votes)

Politico notes the Arizona state legislature's attempt to ban human-animal hybrids. [Bos'n]

Senate bill 1307, which passed 16-12, prohibits (among other things):

  • creating or attempting to create an in vitro human embryo by any means other than fertilization of a human egg by a human sperm.
  • creating or attempting to create a human-animal hybrid
  • transferring or attempting to transfer a human embryo into a nonhuman womb
  • transferring or attempting to transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb, and
  • transporting or receiving for any purpose a human-animal hybrid

The same bill was passed 5-2 by the House Committee on Health and Human Services last month, sponsored by Chairman Barto, and supported by the Bioethics Defense Fund (whose president argued on its behalf), the Arizona Catholic Conference, members of the 40 Days for Life Campaign and other individuals. It was opposed by Seth Apfel, a prior Democratic candidate for the Arizona Senate.

The bill faces a full vote in the state House and governor approval before becoming law.

Comments

Your rating: None Average: 5 (4 votes)

It'd be interesting to learn what kind of potential advancements in medicine or any other potential advantages (if any) might be blocked by this kind of ban, and why it was banned to begin with (is it just "unethical" research?). The original article isn't very clear on that IMO.

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Well, the bill factsheet notes the following restrictions that might still permit work in the area:

. . . this section does not prohibit either of the following if the activity does not meet the definition of human-animal hybrid or violate the prohibition on transferring a human embryo into a nonhuman womb or a nonhuman embryo into a human womb:

a) research involving the use of transgenic animal models containing human genes or
b) xenotransplantation of human organs, tissues or cells into recipient animals other than animal embryos.

In the House committee vote, Chairman Barto said "there have been exciting advances in biotechnology in the past few years, but Americans believe that retrieving and using human tissue and genetic material must be coupled with the necessary safeguards to protect the dignity of the human person," while BDF President Nikolas Nikas said "this bill is aimed at preventing asexual reproduction of human beings and creation of animal human hybrids."

As always, I suggest reading the source documents linked above (which Politico strangely didn't provide).

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Basically what the law is actually designed to block is that for years scientists have been injecting human genes into mice for the tests to show better results of what would happen if you tested the drugs or whatever on humans. The law is a bad idea because it is really slowing down science and medical advancements,

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Except the law doesn't outlaw that, and in fact explicitly allows it.

It only blocks mixing on the level of haploids, complete half-sets of chromosomes, or more. Creating a cell with mixed sets of chromosomes will most of the time do absolutely nothing as the cell won't function due to how different chromosomes structures are with many animals (e.g. different numbers). And if the result was viable, there is a good chance it would have severe genetic disorders as we see in people with wrong sets of chromosomes, so would be pretty unethical with current state of genetics.

This law won't impede science in the near future. The most pessimistic but accurate view I think one can have of the law is that it was a waste of legislative time. But state legislators pass all kinds of pointless resolutions for fun or to send messages, as long as it didn't take too much time.

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Humans are technically animals. So this would outlaw every man, woman, and child in the state of Arizona. GG, guys.

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Actually, no. The devil's in the details, as always—or rather, in this case, the definitions:

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 36, chapter 23, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 2, to read:

ARTICLE 2. TREATMENT OF EMBRYOS

START_STATUTE36-2311. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Destructive human embryonic stem cell research" means any research that involves the disaggregation of any human embryo for the purpose of creating human pluripotent stem cells or human pluripotent stem cell lines.

2. "Human-animal hybrid" means any of the following:

(a) A human embryo into which a nonhuman cell or cells, or any component part of a nonhuman cell or cells, have been introduced.

(b) A hybrid human-animal embryo produced by fertilizing a human egg with a nonhuman sperm.

(c) A hybrid human-animal embryo produced by fertilizing a nonhuman egg with human sperm.

(d) An embryo produced by introducing a nonhuman nucleus into a human egg.

(e) An embryo produced by introducing a human nucleus into a nonhuman egg.

(f) An embryo containing at least haploid sets of chromosomes from both a human and a nonhuman life form.

(g) A nonhuman life form engineered so that human gametes develop within the body of a nonhuman life form.

(h) A nonhuman life form engineered so that it contains a human brain or a brain derived wholly or predominantly from human neural tissues.

3. "Human embryo" means a living organism of the species homo sapiens through the first fifty-six days of its development, excluding any time during which its development has been suspended.

4. "In vitro" means outside the human body.

5. "Purchase or sell" includes an exchange of cash, an in-kind payment or any other valuable financial or nonfinancial consideration. "Purchase or sell" does not include payment of costs related to donation of a human embryo for the purpose of implantation in the body of a woman. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE36-2312. Production of human embryo or human-animal hybrid; purchase or sale; prohibitions; violation; classification; exemptions

A. A person shall not intentionally or knowingly create or attempt to create an in vitro human embryo by any means other than fertilization through the combining of a human egg with a human sperm.

B. A person shall not intentionally or knowingly:

1. Create or attempt to create a human-animal hybrid.

2. Transfer or attempt to transfer a human embryo into a nonhuman womb.

3. Transfer or attempt to transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb.

4. Transport or receive for any purpose a human?animal hybrid.

C. A person shall not purchase or sell or offer to purchase or sell an in vitro human embryo and shall not advertise for the purchase or sale of an in vitro human embryo. This subsection does not prohibit payment to a physician by a patient or on a patient's behalf for otherwise lawful services to treat infertility.

D. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.

E. This section does not prohibit either of the following if the activity does not violate subsection B or meet the definition of human?animal hybrid:

1. Research involving the use of transgenic animal models containing human genes.

2. Xenotransplantation of human organs, tissues or cells into recipient animals other than animal embryos. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE36-2313. Destructive human embryonic stem cell research; violation; classification

A. A person shall not intentionally or knowingly engage in destructive human embryonic stem cell research.

B. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 6 felony.

Note that every single subsection of the definition is defined in terms of "human" and "nonhuman", and that "human" is (indirectly) defined as H. sapiens.

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And so crazy bible people stamp away a chance of real furries in the future.

You know what? F- them and F- their ruling.

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... In Arizona, lol... which if there was a place that would first succeed at this, Arizona wouldn't be it.

Nothing of value was lost.

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Note that you can't transport a human-animal hybrid within the state; could be an issue if you had/were one.

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They'd probably ask you for papers as well.

Your rating: None Average: 1 (10 votes)

I gladly support this. Humans are th mos evolutionized species there is.
If you wish to become an animal,simply kill yourself ( =
Furries are just a mere FETISH,not a ucking LIFESTYLE.
Ever wonderd why noone liked you in school,or people made fun of you due to how ridiculous you look in cat ears, and a cat tail or some shit? Yeah....

Your rating: None Average: 4.8 (5 votes)

Nope, cause I never did that in highschool, or college, or adulthood.

And we are the most evolutionized in relation to our particular environment. We wouldn't last two minutes living in the ocean without tools we devised, for we were not evolved to deal with that environment. A shark would own ya.

But I will give someone that, it would be hell to live as a human-animal hybrid in this world. For example, if someone murdered you, would it be considered a murder by the legal definition or animal cruelty?

That's something I wouldn't want to be on the experiment side of.

Your rating: None Average: 4 (6 votes)

Are you stupid, or just an inbred retard? (@ Raz)

Your rating: None Average: 3.3 (4 votes)

No need to feed the trolls. :-)

Your rating: None Average: 5 (4 votes)

Troll's gotta eat from time to time too. It's cruel to starve them completely. That one seemed quite scrawny and weak.

Your rating: None Average: 1 (4 votes)

1915: 1.8 Billion people,
2010: 6.8 Billion people,
95 years: 5 Billion people,
2310: 22 Billion people,
Solution to problem: Stop Creating Babies

Your rating: None Average: 1 (4 votes)

The Patterson-Gimlin film of Bigfoot that was made in 1967 is real. The NASI said that the creature had both human and gorilla features. Bigfoot is a human-primate hybrid. Half man and half gorilla. A man made creature that was created by men who were slaves that took off and ended up in Africa. They used ropes to catch female gorillas and had sex with them. For all the skeptics out there, they were real men that had real sex with real female gorillas. And nobody was wearing a costume at the time.

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