Take Action for Helen: Part 3—Sacrificed for Nothing
Helen was born in a research facility, earmarked for a life endured as a human resource for scientific inquiry.
This would be tragic enough if Helen’s forced sacrifice served to benefit the health of others, but it did not–just as the sacrifice of the millions who came before her and the millions who continue to come after her will not be to the benefit of human health.
The animal experimentation industry relies on us believing that animal use for scientific inquiry is necessary for advancing human medicine, because we would simply not condone it otherwise. To be sure, a recent survey found:
- Over 75% of us would not readily agree to continue using an animal model that had failed to translate findings to humans.
- Over 82% of us believe that nonhuman research findings should translate to humans over 40% of the time.
Non-human animal “models” have failed to translate findings to humans since the very beginning of animal experimentation. The translation rate of findings from non-human research to humans (including nonhuman primate research to humans) is 0.5% in most cases.
But, unfortunately, the animal experimentation industry has been successful in convincing us otherwise: the same survey found that over 80% of us believe that animal experimentation benefits humans. After all, that’s what we’re told by the powerful, highly visible, strategic groups that benefit financially from animal experimentation. It’s us or them; you’re either pro-animal or pro-human, they say.
The “us or them” dichotomy crafted and relied on by the animal research industry is patently false, however. And, unlike the animal research industry, we have the science to prove it.
In vitro, in silico, and other human-relevant (non-animal) methods of human research directly and accurately answer questions about human health without harming any animals–human or non-human.
We do not need to choose between protecting the Helens of our world and acting in the best interests of one another. Both require the same actions: an end to animal experimentation, and investment in human-relevant research methods.