Animal Research

On page 1 of your May 25, 1992, issue, you state that "the emotional battle over animal welfare is heating up--with many researchers finding themselves caught in the middle." To make matters worse, the article on Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) on page 8 concludes with a statement by Martin Stephens of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) implying that AMP ads contribute to a dilemma, with readers having to decide if they are "either for sick children or for the welfare of rats."

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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 ...

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