Defining human-animal chimeras and hybrids: A comparison of legal systems and natural sciences
Jun 04, 2021
About this article
Published Online: Jun 04, 2021
Page range: 101 - 114
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2021-0001
Keywords
© 2021 Szymon Bokota, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The article aims to present issues arising out of differences in the way that the terms chimera and hybrid are defined in legal systems and by natural sciences in the context of mixing human and animal DNA. The author analyses the different approaches to defining these terms used in various legal systems, dividing them into groups in light of conclusions reached from examining definitions used in natural sciences. The distinction is used to answer the question of which approach to definitions applied by legislators is the best way to handle the subject of human-animal organisms, given the need to balance their impact on medicine and the ethical concerns that arise.