AMP launches new campaign for women's health
A monograph presented by AMP at the NAIA Full Circle Summit
Americans for Medical Progress and the American Association for Laboratory
Animal Science Foundation have inaugurated a campaign to enhance public awareness
and appreciation of medicine's ongoing search to improve the health and well-being
of women and to focus attention on the attempts by animal rights activists to
block vital women's health research.
AMP's Women's Health Campaign focuses on a paradox; women are responsible for
the majority of contributions given to animal rights organizations, many of
which are opposing research designed to provide treatments and cures for diseases
affecting women.
Women hold an enormous stake in the future of animal research in medicine.
They are the major consumers of health care in the US, accounting for 59 percent
of prescription drug purchases, 61 percent of doctor visits, and 66 percent
of procedures in hospitals every year. Women make three-quarters of all household
decisions about where health care dollars are spent. Women live seven years
longer than men; many illnesses hit them later in life and affect them differently
than men.
There are currently more than 350 new medicines to meet women's health needs
either in clinical trials or awaiting government approval. These drugs target
diseases that affect only women, affect women disproportionately, or are among
the top 10 killers of women. Among them are drugs for osteoporosis; ovarian,
breast, and cervical cancer; diabetes; heart disease; lung and respiratory disorders;
arthritis and related diseases; and autoimmune diseases such as lupus and scleroderma.
Animal research has played a key role in the development of each of these treatments
and all those protocols that are already available to women.
Animal rights groups are waging a war to end all animal research in medicine.
Their opposition threatens the progress that women are making in closing the
research "gender gap." AMP's Women's Health Campaign will empower women to make
informed decisions about their health care and charitable giving - ensuring
that their donations will not work against their best interests in medical research.
There are many examples of how animal rights groups are impeding scientists'
efforts to improve women's health.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals opposes women's use of the hormone
replacement therapy Premarin, even though it has been proven effective in protecting
against osteoporosis, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease as well as in relieving
menopause symptoms. As part of its offensive, PeTA is working to undermine the
National Institutes of Health Women's Health Initiative, which is producing
a legacy of information on how diseases and the aging process affect women.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is spearheading a drive to
stop contributions to health charities that sponsor animal research. This includes
the March of Dimes, which is concerned with prenatal health as well as prevention
of birth defects, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society,
the Arthritis Foundation, and the American Diabetes Association, along with
dozens of other health research advocacy organizations.
PeTA lobbied against the joint US-Russian-French space project Bion, which
was designed to develop new information about osteoporosis, anemia, and other
diseases.
In Defense of Animals is well into its second decade opposing Procter &
Gamble's animal research and testing. Among the drugs in development at P&G
is Risedronate, a medication that has been shown to increase bone density in
women with osteoporosis.
Campaign elements
A report to the media will emphasize the vital role of animal research in women's
health, detail the actions of animal rights groups against research, and contain
the results of a new national survey of women's attitudes toward medical research
and animal rights.
A November news conference in Washington DC opened the national public education
initiatives of the campaign, which include print, radio, television, and internet
distribution of the findings of the report.
In January, the AMP Women's Health Campaign will hold a reception to honor
six heroes of science: patients, public officials, and scientists who have championed
progress in women's health research. The reception will be hosted by honorary
chairwoman Heloisa Sabin, widow of oral polio pioneer Dr. Albert Sabin.
For more information about the campaign, contact AMP, at telephone (703)
836-9696; Fax (703) 836-9594; or e-mail AMP@AMProgress.org.
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