There is no battle over animal welfare in the laboratory: AMP and other biomedical researchers are wholeheartedly in favor of good care of their animals. They are, however, unwilling to equate the life of a child with that of a rat.
Stephens is attempting to position his organization in a mythical middle ground between what he sees as two extremes, animal rightists and scientists working with animals, by casting the debate as one of animal welfare. But how can HSUS be found in a middle ground when another HSUS vice president, Michael Fox, has stated in his recent book, Inhumane Society (St. Martin's Press Inc., New York, 1990), that animal welfare is "hypocrisy" and that "it is unethical to value any one life over any other. Thus the life of the ant and the life of my child should be accorded equal respect"? Further, the book's jacket carries a laudatory ...
