In an article posted by National Geographic, titled Human-Pig Hybrid Created in the Lab- Here Are the Facts, author Eric Blakemore discusses the creature known as a chimera: a human-pig hybrid. Blakemore discusses the benefits that a chimera could bring to the medical field and how to create one. He then talks about the risks and setbacks in creating a chimera.
Blakemore’s attidue toward chimeras is that they are a good and beneficial creation in the medical field. Blakemore uses rhetorical questions and diversion to support his position on chimeras. His question, “what if, rather than relying on a generous donor, you could grow a custom organ inside an animal instead?” implies that the only answer is to receive the custom organ. This would make the wait obsolete, while providing a seemingly sufficient organ from an animal. Blakemore also uses diversion to push his point: accepting chimeras for medical use. He blatantly glosses over opposition towards chimeras stating that creating one is a “likely controversial- feat,” also “experiments are currently ineligible for public funding in the United States,” and that “public opinion, too, has hampered the creation.” Blakemore never talks about why chimeras are controversial, or why funding research on chimeras is “ineligible,” or how the public has “hampered the creation” of chimeras. He barely acknowledges the objection to creating chimeras to make sure the reader only sees the benefits of chimeras and not the controversies.
I personally do not agree with this article. There is too much informaiton that I do not know about chimeras for me to be able to say that they are something we need. I would like to know where the scientists get their stem cells. If the stem cells are from fetuses that were aborted then I have a major problem with the creation of chimeras because I am against abortion, but that’s an entierly different topic. I would also like to know how well these chimera organs would work for those who need organs. If they work just as well as human organs then that is a major benefit, but if the organs are lacking in important areas then I do not think it is worth the time and money to create chimeras. Plus, even if the organs do work well, there is still the moral argument to use the organ. What if the chimeras acquire human intelligence? Are we going to treat them like humans or pigs? There are too many questions that I have about chimeras for me to be able to promote chimera research.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/human-pig-hybrid-embryo-chimera-organs-health-science/
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