Bones Star Urges Waxman to Help Chimps
Emily Deschanel, star of Fox's Bones, wants to know if Rep. Henry Waxman has a soft spot for chimps
Does Rep. Henry Waxman have a soft spot for apes? That's what actress Emily Deschanel, the star of Fox's Bones, is trying to find out. She penned a letter to the California congressman this week that urges Waxman to cosponsor the Town-Reichart Great Ape Protection Act. The legislation was recently introduced in a House health subcommittee that is part of the Waxman-chaired Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill would phase out invasive scientific research on chimpanzees and release federally owned apes to sanctuaries. "This legislation would allow about 500 chimpanzees to live their remaining years in sanctuaries," writes Deschanel. "They could form bonds with other chimpanzees, bask in the sunlight, and feel the grass and the earth. That's the least we can do for chimpanzees, our species' closest living relatives."
Read her full letter here.
Reader Comments
The only thing...
The only thing about this is that her letter really only states her side of the matter, it doesn't really cover the other half. How else are you supposed to go about doing medical research. Unless you just want to nix medical research altogether, there really is no other way to go about it. I mean yeah it's a tough situation to be in when you want to see everybody and everything living peacefully. But sadly this world isn't peaceful. I mean we have people killing other people in the name of their God, we have people starting wars, children starving to death, people being forced into wars. When you look at the bigger picture, Chimp research is not the number one issue.
I mean I'd like to know what her idea of an alternative would be? I mean I'm all for offering up a few sleazy politicians to have the research done on, but there's too many laws to have to go around.
Honestly, I don't see how there's another way and I've read most of these comments but they don't really offer up an alternative. I think it's great that Emily wants to do something wonderful for these chimps, I don't think it's really great to have to use animals or humans for research, but there's really no other way. You can't win everything, but hey, at least she's trying. I have to commend her on that at least.
really?
"When I see a petition of the top 1000 medical research scientists in the fields of immunology, neuroscience, infection diseases and virology saying that we no longer need to use chimps, then I'll change my mind."
What makes you think scientists are qualified to decide a moral issue? I'd like 1000 ethics professors to weigh in.
we need them
I just don't understand the ignorance of people here. Um, you do realize that we do use people in medical reearch. It's called clinical research trials. But they do that only after things have been tried on animals.
People are great at volunteering others to be tested on (prisoners, criminals, rapists, fellow commenters) but I yet to see anyone actually volunteering themselves. Interesting.
It's a tough issue, but personally, I still think unless you are gonna volunteer your own body for research, we need to test on animals.
Using chimps is a tough issue, but if the medical research community says we need to use them (oh, and Jane Goodall is a freaking anthropologist, not a medical scientist), then I think we need to keep using them. When I see a petition of the top 1000 medical research scientists in the fields of immunology, neuroscience, infection diseases and virology saying that we no longer need to use chimps, then I'll change my mind.
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