“To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain types of human-animal chimeras.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes new criminal prohibitions in 18 U.S.C. chapter 52 on knowingly creating, transferring, or transporting certain human-animal chimeras in or affecting interstate commerce. It defines a prohibited human-animal chimera to include 10 specified types (e.g., a human embryo with introduced nonhuman cells rendering its species membership uncertain; embryos from human-nonhuman gametes or nuclei; nonhuman life forms engineered to develop human gametes, contain a human brain or predominantly human neural tissue, or exhibit human-like facial or bodily features) and defines a human embryo as an organism of the species Homo sapiens from the 1-cell stage up to 8 weeks. The prohibitions cover (1) creating or attempting to create such a chimera, (2) transferring or attempting to transfer a human embryo into a nonhuman womb, (3) transferring or attempting to transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb, and (4) transporting or receiving such a chimera for any purpose. Violations are punishable by fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both, with an additional civil penalty for violations involving pecuniary gain equal to the greater of $1 million or twice the gross gain. The prohibitions do not apply to research using transgenic animal models containing human genes or transplanting human organs, tissues, or cells into animals, if otherwise permissible.
This section amends the table of chapters for part I of title 18, United States Code, by inserting after chapter 51 a new chapter 52 titled "Certain types of human-animal chimeras prohibited."