Surgeon’s role in protest, medicine
Re “A Thin Line on Animal Rights,” Sept. 5
As a surgeon, Dr. Jerry Vlasak has crossed the line by violating the pledge of ethical and professional behavior taken by all physicians upon graduation from medical school. The modern Hippocratic Oath mandates a code of behavior that requires “respect [for] the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk.”
Animal research was a key component of Vlasak’s surgical training. Now, through actions and words supporting a radical agenda, he seeks to deny our future leaders in medicine and research the same tools. Vlasak needs to make a decision -- either adhere to the Hippocratic Oath to which he swore, or stop using his MD credential to garner support for the dangerous and criminal actions of animal rights extremists.
JACQUIE CALNAN
President Americans for Medical Progress
Alexandria, Va.
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The Times misses the point when it reports on animal rights activists and their battle against UCLA animal labs. If readers understood the suffering these animals endure, there would be more activists and fewer animal experiments. When a minuscule minority uses violence and threats, the fact that the media’s attention is on them and not on what they’re protesting is yet another misfortune for these animals.
PATTI BREITMAN
Fairfax, Calif.
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