Researchers would be barred from creating hybrid human embryos under a bill receiving its first hearing in a House subcommittee.

Rep. Jay Neal (R-LaFayette) tells WSB's Sandra Parrish there's no such research going on in Georgia right now, but he wants to prevent any in the future that would seek to create a hybrid human-animal embyro.

“We just want to make sure it doesn’t ever happen in Georgia and I think it’s good to set that boundary,” he says.

But Russell Allen, president and CEO of Georgia Bio, a member-based life sciences organization, says such research is unethical anyway.

“We feel it’s unnecessary to legislate on something that isn’t happening… and something that as an industry we would prevent anyway,” he says.