As you may or may not know, the March of Dimes, having eradicated Polio from our country, has turned its sites on premature births. It supports research for the prevention and treatment of premature babies by raising money through "Walk-a-thons" around the country.
Who could possibly be against that? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), that's who.
My granddaughter was born on October 31, 2001, 16 weeks premature. She weighed 1 lb. 4 oz. at birth. She spent the first 5 months of her life in the neo-natal intensive care nursery at University Hospital in Denver, Colorado. She is now a rambunctious 3.5 year old with no real long term problems. She is truly a miracle and a miracle of modern medicine, much of which is due to the research funded by the March of Dimes. Because of this, my granddaughter, my son and my daughter-in-law were chosen to be the ambassador family for the Northern Colorado March of Dimes Walk-a-thon held on April 30, 2005 in Loveland, Colorado.
A booth depicting my granddaughter's birth, care, treatment and progress was set up at the Walk-a-thon staging area in downtown Loveland. My son spoke to the "walkers" about the trials of having a premature baby. A neonatologist spoke about the care and treatment of pre-mature babies and the need to raise money for research through these types of events.
Then PETA showed up and set up a booth next to my granddaughter's booth. Two PETA members set up the booth with photos and educational materials to protest the March of Dimes for funding research that used animals (apparently rats and monkeys) in its research.
I was the first to approach them. Obviously I was not happy.
(FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a life long hunter, fisherman and outdoor enthusiast. I am a member of numerous outdoor, hunting and firearms and second amendment organizations. I am on the board of directors of a non-profit hunting organization, the North American Gun Dog Association (NAGDA) and am the Colorado coordinator for another on-profit organization, Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH). I am a practicing attorney in Colorado. I am no friend of PETA and disagree with everything they stand for.)
I approached the two female PETA volunteers (who were both wearing large posters consisting of pictures of research monkeys around their necks) and asked what they were protesting. They informed me they were protesting the March of Dimes for supporting animal research. They wanted the March of Dimes to stop supporting any research that harmed animals (read rats and monkeys).
They claimed they have studies that show that animal research is not beneficial to finding cures for medical conditions like premature births, and that animal research may, in fact, lead to a longer period of time in finding cures than through non-animal testing.
At that point I could not take it any longer.
I asked these two "protestors" if they were more concerned about the welfare of rats and monkeys than they were about the life of my granddaughter (who had walked up to their booth at that point). When pressed on that point (to the point of rudeness my wife informed me later) they finally admitted they WERE more concerned about rats than my granddaughter.
PETA admits they value animals over humans - page 2 >>>
