An occasional series on U.S. History.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wrote In his 1989 book "Transplant" that when he was a student at Harvard Medical School in the 1970s he routinely went to animal shelters, pretended to adopt cats, then practiced surgery on them until they died. Frist wrote that he told shelter personnel he would care for the cats as pets. Frist, who has been called "the cat world’s answer to Dr. Mengele" has subsequently denounced himself for his conduct, according to Moon cult wire service UPI..
Please share widely!
At the risk of sounding like a real jerk…I don’t see any big problem with what Frist did. My belief structure is like this: animals are effectively tools of man. Pets in particular are property. So, while its senseless to injure, torture, or otherwise harm an animal for no gain, this was not the case with Frist. In performing surgery on unwanted cats, Frist became a better surgeon on humans, which, IMO, is infinately more important.Frist didn’t steal or damage anybody else’s property. He aquired property legally (although he lied about it), and then used the animals as tools to better the lives of humans.Senseless violence toward animals? Clearly wrong. Using animals as tools to make the lives of humans demonstrateably better? IMO, clearly ethical. Now, what about animal testing in cosmetics or other products which don’t make lives of humans demonstrateably better (as opposed to surgical procedures)? That’s tougher. I would hope that companies work to minimize their work with animals, but it’s just not my “pet issue.”
That’s funny