March of dimes - Animal Testing

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read as you wish...

 

I received this from another group...

Tanaista

 

" March of Dimes gets flak for its funding of research with animals. "

 

Dear DawnWatcher:

 

On Saturday, April 7, THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE published a piece by

Michael Stetz entitled " March of Dimes gets flak for its funding of

research with animals. " It refers to the Physicians Committee for

Responsible Medicine's billboard campaign, aimed at getting Americans to

think before they donate.

 

The Billboard features a picture of a guinea pig, and the text

" How many animals will be killed with your March of Dimes donation? Just

say NO.

    www.charitiesinfo.org "

 

You can view it on the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

website at <A HREF= " www.pcrm.org " >www.pcrm.org</A>

 

The campaign coincides with The annual March of Dimes Walk America

fund-raisers, slated for April 29.

 

These were the opening lines of the Union-Tribune story: " With the hope

of reducing birth defects and infant mortality in mind, kittens' eyes

have been sewn shut. In other experiments, pregnant animals have been

given cocaine, nicotine and alcohol. "

 

The article quoted the text of the PCRM billboard (thus publicizing it

to all who had not driven past).

 

The piece is certainly not pro PCRM and anti March of Dimes. The March

of Dimes is given plenty of opportunity to defend its actions, with

quotes such as,

" It says animal experimentation is needed, that the health and

well-being of infants are at stake. "

and,

" The claim that kittens' eyes have been sewn shut? It's true, but that

experiment took place more than 15 years ago, the March of Dimes said.

It was a legitimate experiment into brain development, it added. "

 

The article also mentions that the physicians group " has come under fire

from organizations such as the American Medical Association for its

tactics " (Note - tactics, not content of message.)

 

It quotes Dr. Neal Barnard, head of the PCRM: " studies on the human

population offer more insight. For instance, it's already known that

drugs and alcohol can cause problems in pregnancies, so why force

animals to undergo such testing? "

 

But the article concludes with Dr. Frank Mannino, a neonatologist at

UCSD Medical Center saying that the " physicians' group's claims that

animal research is unnecessary and unproductive are wrong. There is no

alternative when it comes to testing and developing medicines and

procedures. "

 

We, of course, know that there are alternatives and that the number one

priority needs to be developing more.

 

However, as I mentioned, this is not a pro

PCRM piece - those are for us to write in the form of letters to the

editor:

 

<A HREF= " letters " >letters</A>

PCRM has asked us to write brief, polite letters of support. Please

remember to include your name, address and daytime phone number.

 

A full discussion of the issues the PCRM has with the March of Dimes is

available on the web, and well worth looking at: <A

HREF= " http://www.charitiesinfo.org/fs_mod_reform.html

" >http://www.charitiesin fo.org/fs_mod_reform.html</A>

 

The DawnWatch stance on ANIMAL TESTING is available on the DawnWatch

website, on the page, of course, called " Animal Testing. "

 

Note: If you are not already a member of the Physicians Committee for

Responsible Medicine, I urge you to visit their website and join now: <A

HREF= " www.pcrm.org " >www.pcrm.org</A>. This small group has had enormous

success in getting the government to make it's " dietary guidelines " more

vegan friendly, in persuading major medical schools to abandon or

significantly reduce vivisection, in helping to persuade many companies

to abandon animal testing and in helping to significantly reduce the

number of animal tests to be conducted in the now infamous EPA/Al Gore

environmental toxin testing fiasco.