Free Republic

In what may seem more like a Hollywood science-fiction plot, as in the forthcoming movie "Splice," lawmakers are trying to prevent scientists from combining human and animal embryos to make "human-animal hybrids." In "Splice," two scientists defy ethical boundaries and splice together human and animal DNA to create a new organism, also known as a chimera.

Evidence is growing that in vitro fertilization causes serious birth defects and genetic anomalies. The most recent study has shown that babies born from IVF have three times the rate of genetic brain disorders. The survey examines nearly all of the 1,105 IVF babies born in Ireland since 1989. The study particularly notes a comparatively high incidence of Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) and Angelman Syndrome (AS) at almost three times that of the general population.  The study said that although the number of incidents of brain disorders are small, "there are strong circumstantial observations that suggest a cause-and-effect relationship between assisted...