Local News in Brief : Larger Lab for Hospital

Despite protests from activists opposed to the use of animals in medical research, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to allow Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to more than quadruple the size of its research facility.

By an 11-0 vote, the council instructed planning officials to draft an ordinance that will change zoning and height restrictions that currently prohibit construction of the proposed eight-story research building at the hospital in the Beverly-Wilshire area.

The hospital intends to demolish its existing research facility--the 34,000-square-foot Halper Building--and replace it with a 151,000-square-foot building.

Members of Last Chance for Animals, a San Fernando Valley animal-rights group, asked the council to turn down the new center, alleging that it will increase animal experimentation at the hospital. Cedars-Sinai officials have defended the use of animals in medical research as beneficial to humans.

After the vote Friday, about 25 protesters shouted at several dozen supporters of the medical center: “You are murderers” and “Stop Cedars’ animal Auschwitz.” Several of the hospital supporters, wearing yellow buttons saying “I support research for life,” shook their heads and responded: “Shame, shame.”