Animal rights vs research? A question of the nation's scientific literacy
Article Abstract:
An old battle over the use of animals in biomedical research has flared anew in recent years, fought by a variety of organizations, some of them militant. A brief history of some of the drugs and treatments that have been perfected on animals is provided: these include penicillin, polio vaccine, heart surgery, cardiac pacemakers, and cancer chemotherapy. The story is related of a California surgeon, Abdool Moossa, who was stopped by death threats from teaching a course on the use of surgical staplers that used dogs. Dr. Moossa considered himself ''blackmailed'' by the animal rights activists who forced cancellation. He also cites the excellent, and very expensive, animal facilities at his medical center. In his view, the activists care little for human life. Their lobby is strong, and a counter-lobby needs to be created. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, one activist group, says it is nonviolent; credit for many of the 71 criminal acts against animal laboratories in the last eight years has been claimed by the Animal Liberation Front. The vice president for medical education and science of the American Medical Association believes that the animal rights activists want to stop all biomedical research. Veterinarians are in charge of research laboratories, although they are not usually prime targets of activists. Many results from research on animals are used to treat diseased or suffering animals. The activists' messages are getting through, though: the new Barbie Doll has a costume sympathetic to their cause, and the "Weekly Reader" carries messages supporting animal rights. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1990
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JFK's death, part II - Dallas MDs recall their memories
Article Abstract:
Four doctors who treated President John F. Kennedy at Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital on the day he was shot all agree that the bullets that struck Kennedy were fired from above and behind by a high-powered rifle. Malcolm Perry, Jim Carrico, M.T. 'Pepper' Jenkins and Charles Baxter agreed to be interviewed following the publication of a book by Charles Crenshaw, who was a junior resident at Parkland in 1963. None of the men remember seeing Crenshaw in the trauma room that day, and all refute his claim that the bullets came from the front and that the autopsy reports were altered at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, where the autopsy was performed. All four said that the autopsy photos they saw were consistent with what they saw in the trauma room that day. Other health care professionals in the room that day also denounce Crenshaw's book, which was co-written by two conspiracy theorists.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1992
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