Senator Sounds Alarm on Threat of ‘Human-Animal Chimeras’ in Blocking Bill Designed to Protect IVF Treatment

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

On Wednesday, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) blocked the Senate bill that would have protected IVF treatment on a federal level, claiming it was an issue that should be left up to the states. But she had another reason: IVF could lead to “human-animal chimeras.”

While it’s not unpredictable for a Republican to believe that some issues are better left to the states, Hyde-Smith’s Island of Dr. Moreau scenario was certainly a wilder take on the issue of IVF. She said on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday that the bill “would legalize the creation of human-animal chimeras” and open the door for other issues that some have connected to IVF treatment:

It would legalize human cloning. It would legalize commercial surrogacy, including for young girls without parental involvement. It would legalize gene edited designer babies and lift the federal ban on the creation of three parent embryos.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said that Hyde-Smith’s interpretation of the bill was wrong:

It does not force anyone to seek reproductive technology. It does not force anyone to offer it. It does not force anyone to cover it. It simply says you have a statutory right should you choose to pursue assisted reproductive technology.

The bill was brought to the floor after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos were to be considered children, which had an almost immediate chilling effect on IVF services in the state. Three clinics stopped offering IVF services for fear of being subject to wrongful death lawsuits in case something happened to the embryos in their facilities.