AR-News: (US-az) A Gadfly in Training: Guinea pigs needed for human health

[Animalconcerns]

[opinion from Arizona Daily Wild Cat]

Essential to the research process is injecting mice with VCD, a chemical
that induces menopause. Because the experiment uses animals, it
predictably raised concerns in the campus community regarding animal rights.
...
The high quality of modern human life owes much to research involving
animals. Without it, we would still be racked with the same diseases that
beset our ancestors. Animal testing has given us the antibiotics and
vaccinations without which we would not have survived past infancy. Our
knowledge of nutrition and the development of life-saving surgical
techniques such as heart bypass surgery would not be possible without
animal research. Our life expectancy has increased by 20.8 years because
of animal research, according to the Department of Health and Human
Services. The very fact that we breathe is a testament to the benefits of
the clinical use of animals.

By virtue of their ethical standards, some animal rights activists oppose
profiting from animal testing that uses knowledge gained and procedures
developed from it. Ingrid Newkirk, the president and co-founder of PETA,
is noted for saying, "Even if animal research were to produce a cure for
AIDS, we'd be against it." If animal rights activists were to adhere to
this kind of philosophy then, by extension, they would have to denounce
not only current medical research but also all the medicines, procedures
and knowledge from which they have already benefited. 
...
The whole concept of animal rights is not only a misguided issue to
champion, but also presents a problem for the preservation and improvement
of human life.

Animal testing is an ugly fact, but it still is essential.

Susan Bonicillo is a journalism sophomore and recovering vegetarian. She
can be reached at letters at wildcat.arizona.edu. 

full story:
http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/97/92/03_2.html

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