Celebrity Activism
A look at Hollywood’s conflicting support for medical research and “animal rights”
It is intellectually dishonest to support medical
research while embracing the animal rights movement, which is fundamentally
opposed to animal research. Sadly, a number of Hollywood celebrities
continue to promote the notion that the mutually exclusive goals
of animal activists and biomedical researchers can be achieved simultaneously.
The idea that medical and scientific research can
be advanced – without laboratory animals – is completely
false. Animal research has played a vital role in virtually every
major medical advance of the last century. From dialysis to organ
transplantation, from the development of protease inhibitors to
dopamine replacement, from vaccinations to chemotherapy, practically
every present day protocol for the prevention, treatment, cure and
control of disease, pain and suffering is based on knowledge attained
through research with animals.
Much of what we know about AIDS and how to treat
it is the result of research with lab animals including non-human
primates, chickens, cats and rodents. Studies with rats and mice
continue to provide invaluable data in the fields of breast cancer
and heart disease research. Animal studies have also been instrumental
in achieving better understanding of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
disease and treatments for drug addiction.
Animal activists have not only rejected the essential
need for animals in finding new therapies and cures, they have attempted
to block or slow advances in important and promising research. In
recent years animal activists have:
- initiated litigation against the U.S. government to impede
scientific progress
- applied pressure on members of the U.S. Congress to introduce
legislation opposing some biomedical research
- spent millions of dollars spreading misinformation regarding
the value of animal research
- issued death threats against dozens of doctors and other biomedical
researchers.
Despite these activities, some celebrities continue to
serve as spokespersons for the animal rights movement. Some
have been honored by groups like PETA for their outstanding
leadership on animal rights, even as they support areas
of disease research that rely upon the continued use of
laboratory animals.
They are communicating the false and illogical notion that
the mutually exclusive goals of animal rights and disease
research can be attained simultaneously.
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"My
message to people in Hollywood who support disease research
and animal rights: Leave your ribbons at home. The patients,
activists and families, as well as your fans – and
the scientists working hard on a cure – deserve to
know precisely where you stand."
– Dr. Michael E. DeBakey
in the Wall Street Journal |
Hollywood stars must recognize that when they support,
represent, or advocate on behalf of PETA, the public will assume
they also support the organization's fundamental objective, namely,
to deny scientists access to one of the most valuable resources
available to combat life-threatening illness.
It must be noted that FBR strongly supports the
continued efforts of the Hollywood community to raise awareness
for serious illness. The entertainment industry's advocacy has resulted
in the donation of hundreds of millions of dollars for important
research deleted, and delete has helped advance scientific understanding
for diseases that affect millions of Americans
However, those who truly support the fight against
AIDS, breast cancer, and other diseases should support and defend
the scientific community's efforts to utilize every resource available
in the search for new therapies and cures. This includes the use
of animals in biomedical research.
FBR has identified some of the most high-profile
celebrity supporters of animal rights who are attempting to straddle
the fence on animal rights and medical research.
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