HUNDREDS MARCH IN UK TO SUPPORT ANIMAL RESEARCH
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Oxford on Sunday to march in support of a ?18 biomedical research laboratory. Work on the lab had been suspended for nearly two years because the original builder pulled out after intimidation by animal rights extremists. The new builders work under strict security and their workers wear face masks. "This is a historic day," physiology researcher John Stein told the crowd. "We are drawing a line in the sand." According to the Guardian, many researchers stayed away for fear of reprisals. Professor Tipu Aziz, a neurosurgeon, said, "This country has thousands of researchers paralysed by fear. That’s a travesty of democracy."
Although Oxford says that 98% of the animals at the research facility will be rodents, animal welfare demonstrators feel that it is immoral to experiment on any animals. One group, the Animal Liberation Front, has a history of threats and violence to back up its concerns.
Exasperated students and academics now appear to have had enough. "Medical research involving animals is essential to medical progress", says Iain Simpson, spokesman for the new student group Pro-Test. "And while diseases such as cancer and AIDS continue to kill millions, we are not just justified in continuing with animal research; we have a moral responsibility to do so."
More Stories
BioEdge has closed its doors
After 23 years, BioEdge ceased published in May 2024. Not that there isn't lots to report on and talk about,...
How liberal are American bioethicists?
There is growing acknowledgement of the fact that the backgrounds, ideas, and politics of American academics are out of step...
Doctors can be socialized to cooperate in morally despicable evil, says bioethicist
Bioethicist Carl Elliott seems to relish stirring up fellow bioethicists and the medical profession. In his latest book, The Occasional Human...
3 sperm donors from same family in Quebec have sired 600 children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children by offering free sperm on the...
American IVF clinics are happily offering sex selection
The United States is one of the few countries where IVF sex selection is legal – and it is a...
Owner of castration website in UK found guilty of grievous bodily harm
“Enhancement” normally connotes adding powers beyond normal human functioning. However, there are dark kinds of enhancement which remove them. A...