There's a real blood sucker lurking on Capitol Hill today. Kristin Bauer, who plays Vampire Pam on HBO's hit vampire show True Blood, is joining with lawmakers to push for passage of legislation to stop testing on chimpanzees and lead to the release of chimps held in federal sanctuaries.
In a phone message to Congress today, she urged lawmakers to join in the effort on behalf of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to win passage of the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (GAPCSA).
"I'm calling to ask you to co-sponsor the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act. I've always been fascinated by the incredible intelligence and rich social lives of chimpanzees," says Ms. Bauer, who's also played roles in Seinfeld, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Desperate Housewives. "This bill would end painful, invasive experiments on chimpanzees, saving taxpayer dollars. I'd like to invite you to a briefing on the bill this Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Capitol, room S.115."
Below is the release the group sent Whispers.
Doctors and Scientists Support House and Senate Bills to Save Chimpanzees from Invasive Experiments
Media Event and Hill Briefing to Announce Introduction of Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act
WASHINGTON—A nonprofit physicians group is joining Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell and Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett at an April 13 Capitol Hill news conference and briefing to discuss new bipartisan companion bills that would advance medical research by ending wasteful and misleading chimpanzee experiments. The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (GAPCSA) would end painful and invasive experiments on chimpanzees, release federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries, and prohibit breeding of chimpanzees for experiments.
"Scientists worldwide have halted chimpanzee experiments, because these intelligent creatures suffer immensely and are poor models for researching human diseases," says Elizabeth Kucinich, PCRM's director of government affairs. "The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act would help ensure that no more taxpayer dollars are wasted on ineffective chimpanzee experiments."
EVENT DETAILS:
WHO: Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell; Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett; Elizabeth Kucinich of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; Michael Markarian of Humane Society of the United States
WHAT: Media availability and Hill staff briefing to announce introduction of the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (GAPCSA) in both House and Senate--bills that would end invasive research on chimpanzees
WHEN & WHERE: News conference on Wednesday, April 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Capitol Visitors Center, Room SVC-214; 1st St., NE; Briefing for Hill staffers to follow at 1:30 p.m.; Capitol, Room S-115.
Approximately 1,000 chimpanzees still live in laboratories in the United States. As a result of their use in experiments, chimpanzees can experience social isolation, prolonged captivity, sensory deprivation, and repeated physical harm. Rosie, a chimpanzee used for experimentation for most of her life, has been chemically immobilized 99 times and is in very poor health. The 29-year-old chimpanzee was in retirement until the government moved her back into a laboratory cage last summer.
The new bipartisan Senate bill will be introduced by Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The House companion bill will be introduced by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, Rep. Edolphus Towns, Rep. Steve Israel, Rep. Dave Reichert, and Rep. Jim Langevin.
Rep. Bartlett, a former research scientist, worked with some of the first chimpanzees in space to prepare for the Mercury and Gemini manned spaced missions. As a member of Congress, Bartlett has become an advocate for protecting chimpanzees from invasive experiments.
For more information or an interview with a PCRM expert, please contact Tara Failey at 202-527-7319 or tfailey@pcrm.org.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.
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