Oh dear!

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has recently granted a licence to the Clinical Sciences Research Institute, University of Warwick, which permits the creation of human-pig hybrid embryos for research purposes. Although this licence—which takes effect today, July 1, 2008—is purportedly enacted under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990, the reality is that the 1990 Act clearly does not allow the HFEA to grant such licences. The Christian Legal Centre, together with Comment on Reproductive Ethics, has already filed legal papers for a Judicial Review over the decisions earlier this year by the HFEA to grant licences to Newcastle University and King’s College London for their research into degenerative diseases using animal-human hybrids.