Patients challenge animal rights protestors

A patient support group is challenging animal rights activists to refuse any medical treatment developed using results from research carried out on animals. Seriously Ill for Medical Research (SIMR) says that those who oppose such experiments should also refuse the cures, reported the Times newspaper last week.

Andrew Blake, founder of SIMR, said: 'We, the seriously ill, are the ones on the front line of medical research. We are the ones who would lose if biomedical research were halted'. Mr Blake has Friedrich's Ataxia, a rare, incurable genetic condition. SIMR has produced a card that it says should be carried like an organ donor card by those who oppose the use of animals in medical research. It states that the carrier will refuse all medical treatments developed or tested on animals, which include blood transfusion, anaesthetics, antibiotics and open heart surgery.

Animal rights activists who plan the persecution of people employed in animal research laboratories will face prosecution following an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Police Bill, the UK government announced last week. Home Office minister Charles Clarke said the move, which follows 'wholly unacceptable' attacks on companies such as Huntingdon Life Sciences, was intended to protect scientists and other research workers.