The idea that we should blend human DNA and that of cows to form a cow-human "hybrid" sounds like something out of Monty Python - or, perhaps, a late-night freak sci-fi movie. The fact that it's not (it's a request being made to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK's biotech watchdog) should send shivers down our spines. Not many people in the UK understand how far we have gone down the road to Brave New Britain.

Of course, no-one is suggesting that we want to raise a race (a herd?) of humanoid moo-cows (hu-cows?). We are told not to worry: the hu-cow embryos will be used for experiments and destroyed after a few days.

But we will have jumped a barrier, a very fundamental one. We will have approved the merging of our own species with another. The most vigorous opposition is likely to come from two sources we tend not to think of as in the same camp: environmentalists, who do not want us to tamper with the species, and pro-lifers, who don't want us to tamper with embryos. The fact that both will be offended should be a jolt to our collective consciousness.

In fact, the UK is already far out of step with most western countries in its approach to biopolicy. Creating human embryos for research purposes has been legal here since 1990. It is a serious crime in most of Europe. Making embryos through "therapeutic cloning" is also now legal here. In canada it will get you 5 years in jail. In France, 7 years. And in Grmany, he conscience of the globe on biotechnology because of the horrendous story of what the Nazis did in the name of medicine and science, any research of this kind is illegal.

Perhaps the most worrying thing about the latest news here is he way it is being argued. Listen to this, from Lib-Dem MP Evan Harris, a member of the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee: "If human benefit can be derived by perfecting therapeutic cloning techniques or from research into subsequently-derived stem cells, then it would actually be immoral to prevent it . . ." That's an alarming statement, because it could be sued to justify almost anything. "Human benefit" becomes the trump card, and makes it "immoral" to raise any objection to the latest sci-fi proposal.

The push for hu-cow embryos may help us think all this through. It is 20 years since we had a good national debate about new technologies and human dignity. In the wake of the Warnock Report that recommended that we allow research on embryos, there was a huge public outcry - that led to a private member's bill (the Powell Bill) that had majority support and had it passed would have banned it and brought us in line with most of Europe.

Whether or not we want hu-cows, people like Evan Harris need to stop using cheap arguments and get into some serious moral debate. This isn't about abortion and the right to life. It isn't about die-hard environmentalism. It's about whether there are any limits to new technologies, and whether as we embrace amazing new technologies and cures we can avoid the Brave New World. That's the biggest challenge of the 21st century.

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