30 Years After PETA Exposed Cosmetics-Testing Lab, Dr. Larry Hansen, University of California, Baylor College of Medicine, Isolation and Psychosis in a U.S. Laboratory, Animal testing Weekly Updates at the Sustainable Action Network (SAN)
Right now,
animals are suffering and dying in emergency medicine training sessions at
Baylor College of Medicine. Emergency medicine residents cut into live pigs to
practice medical procedures. At the end of every session, the pigs are killed.
Not only is
killing animals in these painful training labs morally wrong, but it is also a
less effective way than simulators to train our future doctors. What’s
unbelievable is that Baylor already has a state-of-the-art simulation
center—which it should be using instead of animals!
When the vast
majority of other programs use human-relevant training methods, it’s time for
Baylor to step into the 21st century and move beyond the crude practice of using
animals.
As a medical student, I was instructed to
forcibly restrain, cut apart, and kill friendly dogs, including a Golden
Retriever and a black Labrador Retriever. The Golden was the "lucky"
one. We only cut her open, observed some basic physiologic functions, and killed
her. But the black Labrador had it far worse... Week
after week, we performed inept and painful procedures on her (bungled
mutilations, really) — over and over and over again. Then we stuck a needle in her, killed her, and dumped her body in a
garbage bag, like trash. Well, these sweet puppies aren't trash. And I
didn't have the strength of character to stand up to my professors back then.
But after 40 years of practicing medicine,
I'm determined to speak up now! Cut the root of this problem: wasteful
government spending.
"US
Government to Go Ahead With Fatal Experiments on
Dogs." – Independent
I'm also sounding the
alarm because the HEAVY HAND of government is about to ram through a new round
of maximum pain dog experiments. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs restrains
puppies, drills into their skulls, and destroys their brains. Some are only
6-months old. Others are denied anesthesia and pain relief.
Let's be clear about something: these are
the most painful dog labs in the entire federal government.
Let's be clear about something else: this
isn't just wasteful... it's wrong!
It's a shameful betrayal of a 10,000
year-old bond. These puppies were purposefully bred to love and trust the very
same government bureaucrats who torture them to advance their careers.
We've alerted the international media and we're pushing the PUPPERS Act
in Congress. Nearly 100 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors are ready to drain
the swamp! But unlike the government's animal abusers, our campaign
isn't funded with $15 billion in tax handouts. I
didn't have the character to stand up for these dogs when I abused them in
medical school. It's an ethical failing I cannot undo. That's
why I'm
getting behind WCW...
and you should too.
Lawrence Hansen,
M.D. Senior Advisor White Coat Waste Project