The poll will inform a major new public awareness program about the vital role that animals play in women's health research. The Women's Health Campaign, co-sponsored by Americans for Medical Progress and the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Foundation, will also address the ways in which many animal rights organizations are threatening critical women's health research. This research is essential to developing treatments for diseases and conditions that affect women's health, and it is required by the U.S. government before any new medicines can be made available for use by women.
Women are the primary donors to animal groups.
But this new poll indicates animal rights groups that oppose medical research involving animals are working against the interests and wishes of many of their supporters. The survey found that women are concerned about animals' welfare. There is clearly a disconnect between the position of many animal rights groups and the beliefs of women, including those who support these groups. Of the one in five women in the survey who say they contribute to animal rights groups, almost half favor medical research on animals and two-thirds believe that animal testing is necessary, not frivolous . Three in five women don't think that animal rights activists have a negative impact on the advancement of women's health, and only 22 percent are worried that animal rights activists threaten women's health research.