Rationale argument against animal use in research + Leafleting Announcement

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Please watch for our upcoming announcement of a planned 9/15/07 DFW Peaceful & Educational Leafleting on the senseless cruelty of the use of animals in medical research, whch brings no value to human medicine. See good background article (below). Margaret From USA News and World Report http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe/2007/4/16/the-search-for-cruelty-free-medical-research.html?s_cid=rss:erbe:the-search-for-cruelty-free-medical-research The Search for Cruelty-Free Medical Research April 16, 2007 07:39 PM ET | I have seen the future of biotechnology and it is an animal-cruelty-free era. Over the weekend, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) gave its Henry J. Heimlich Award (he of the famed Heimlich maneuver) for Innovative Medicine to a researcher who spearheaded use of human tissue for drug testing and medical research. Researcher Randal Charlton founded the company Asterand, which according to its website "supports human drug discovery and translational medicine through the provision of high-quality, well-characterized human biomaterials and preclinical research services. Therapeutic areas include rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, CNS diseases, and respiratory diseases. Samples are collected from a global network of hospitals according to standardized

collection and ethical protocols." Asterand uses lab-grown human tissues that are used to test drugs for humans, rather than animals ranging from mice and rats to primates. The beauty of the tests is that they produce much more reliable results while helping to bring promising new drugs to market much more quickly. When you think about it, drug testing and research on animals are positively Neanderthal. Since its inception some 50 years ago, the animal-testing industry has mushroomed. Not only are most lab animals confined to uncomfortable, depressing cages, they are also "disposed of" after the tests are concluded. Rodents and primates possess very different forms of biochemistry from our own. Now that the model exists to test drugs on human cells, without harming a

human being, why not use it? Critics say it's not at the cure-all stage yet, and human tissue testing may only limit the number of animals used for testing each year, without eliminating the practice. PCRM describes itself as a "nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research." Bravo for lauding efforts to help people and animals simultaneously. About the author About Bonnie Erbe Bonnie Erbe has covered Washington politics since God was a baby. Because of that, and the fact that

she's a native New Yorker, nothing much surprises her anymore. She has covered Congress, the Supreme Court, the Justice Department, and occasionally the White House for radio and television networks. She also hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe, and writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service. "To the Contrary" will allow you to lift the curtain of partisanship for a refreshingly non-partisan perspective on politics, the environment, religion, and issues that affect the lives of women, families, and communities of color.

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