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Lawmaker wants to ban hybrid human-animal embryos in Georgia

A state lawmaker wants to prevent research in Georgia that could create a hybrid human-animal embryo.

Rep. Tom Kirby (R-Gainesville) says such research is already being done in the United States and he’s heard possibly even in Georgia.

“It deals with the banning of mixing of those two different types of species and creating this Frankenstein science,” he tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.

It’s not hard to find images on the internet of glowing cats, pigs, rabbits, and monkeys that were injected with a DNA from jellyfish as embryos.  The research is done to help scientists map the genes that can cause devastating diseases in humans such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and diabetes.

Kirby wants to make sure none of the research is ever done on human embryos in Georgia.

“Just because we’re capable of doing it doesn’t mean it’s the right way to go,” he says.

The bill would not affect in vitro fertilization in humans or use of animal organs in humans.

But some lawmakers are skeptical of the legislation, calling it a solution without a problem.

“It invokes a chuckle, but at the same it’s a waste of precious time when we could be dealing with education, transportation, and jobs,” says Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta).

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