Are You Willing to be the Guinea Pig Instead?

Have you ever taken penicillin or tetracycline?
Do you use shampoos, soaps, deodorants, sunblocks and other cosmetics?
Have you been immunized against...
Lockjaw? Whooping Cough? Diphtheria? Measles? Polio?

If so, you are already receiving the benefits of medical research.

It is scary to think of dying of cancer, heart disease, or a stroke.
What about Multiple sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease?
What is your chance of getting AIDS - or of survival if you do get it?
Will you or someone you love develop a serious illness like...
Alzheimer's or Parkinson's Disease?
Schizophrenia?
Clinical Depression?

The work of biomedical research is far from done. We cannot stand idly by when millions of people are suffering and dying from these and other diseases.

The only answer is biomedical research, and these are some proven facts we should know:

Tissue Culture	Collections of cells in a test tube -- used widely now in laboratories -- is an important adjunct but does not represent the complexity of the whole living body.
Computer Simulation	Also widely used in laboratories, this too is an important adjunct -- however, science as yet does not have enough information to simulate all the processes of a living organism.
Animals	As yet, there is no alternative for the final testing of new drugs, procedures, and medical models on animals before human application.
Humans	In accordance with the basic principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (1964), biomedical research involving human subjects must conform to generally accepted scientific principles and should be based on adequately performed laboratory and animal experimentation and on a thorough knowledge of the scientific literature. Worldwide, various forms of legislation or regulations reinforce this international code.

Animals should be protected. They should be maintained in safe and healthy conditions. They should not be used callously, carelessly, or cruelly. They should share in the benefits of medical research. They should not be sacrificed needlessly. But the search for the causes and cures of human and animal diseases must continue. You and your children and loved ones are and will be the beneficiaries of ongoing biomedical research.

We Should All Work to Correct Abuses,
But Decide Carefully Where Humanity's Best Future Lies!