Colleen Carroll Campbell’s 8-6-09 article about animal rights versus medical research leaves a lot to be said.  I would bet that she has not allowed herself to really see what goes on behind the closed doors of animal research labs.  She would rather rant about animal rights than truly educate herself.  From the superficial facts in her article one can only assume she is not a person of science, or philosophy for that matter.  Using stem cells is a vast improvement over using animals for research.  I am an animal rights activist and like most, I am all for the best possible research methods to help alleviate human suffering and animal suffering.  The means do not justify the ends when animals are denied freedom, subjected to unrelenting pain and ultimately killed when the outcome cannot even be extrapolated to the human condition.  If a greater life form were to exist that had physical and legal power over us, and they decided that human beings made good test subjects, would she be willing to sacrifice herself for their well-being?  I think not.  Or would she rationalize by telling herself that since the greater life form had superior needs and rights over hers, her life was best served devoid of anything natural to her, in a barren cage with only pain and loneliness as constant reminders that only death could alleviate?  No one condones what the Nazis did to those they subjugated and murdered regardless of their position on animal welfare.  It’s truly absurd to compare people of compassion to a drug-addicted egomaniacal madman.

Mare E Florentino
President,

St. Louis Animal Rights Team