Using Nazi Science Data

I am reminded of George Bernard Shaw’s condemnation of vivisection, wherein he argued that even if it advances human knowledge, it does so at the expense of human character. Certainly this is also true of brutal experiments conducted by Nazi doctors, and data from such experiments should therefore be shunned by the scientific community.

Siegel’s article is especially relevant to the contemporary debate regarding the morality of animal experimentation. Each year in America over 120 million animals are deliberately injected, infected, mutilated, burned, blinded, dismembered, and otherwise violated, despite the existence of many humane alternatives. For us to ignore or even tolerate humanity’s holocaust of the animal kingdom merely because the victims belong to a different species is a form of discrimination every bit as arrogant as the racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism which led to our past oppression of other human beings.

Ultimately, the central issue in both Siegel’s article and the controversy of vivisection is: Should our progress and happiness come at the expense of the pain and torment of others? For a civilized society, the answer must be a resounding no!

DAVID LEVINSON

Del Mar