The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-04-26
EXTREMELY REVOLVING
The Vivisection of Orphan Babies-Is
There no Law, no Penalty to Reach
the Monsters?

New Orleans Picayune: Many good
people whose hearts are full of pity for
the sufferings of the lower animals rise
up and denounce the dissection and
other scientific and surgical experiment
tation of living animals in order to
study the effects of human disease upon
them This is known as "vivisection'
and is loudly and widely condemned BY
voice and press.
But few persons have undertaken 10
characterize as it deserves the brutality,
the atrocious ir1humanity of those medi-
cal men of Philadelphia who vivisected
and inoculated with tnberculin 100 chill
dren from infants in arms up to or 7
years of age
Apparently little or no attention was
paid to this outrage until the New York
Herald which is an active opponent of
vivisection when praeticed on rabbits,
guinea pigs and dogs, took it UP and de-
nounced it.
According to the Herald, the children
were helpless orphans in the public asy-
lums and were regarded as proper sub
jects for scientific exploitation, while the
physicians were all leading practitioners
Of Philadelphia, skin specialists and ex-
perts in eye and children's diseases from
the William Pepper Clinical Laboratory
l oc tI,o I3ax,,,e
The experimental work for which 100
orphans and dependent children were
used consisted of inoculating or "instill-
ing into the babies Koch's tuberculin,
in order to observe whether there would
result a reaction, which, according to
one of the latest theories, would deter
mine whether the patient was suffering
from tuberculosis.
These tests were applied in four ways.
Tuberculin was instilled into the eyes,
was rubbed on the flesh of the child in
the form of ointment, injected subcu-
taneousIy, and in the fourth, or scarihca-
ton test, both human and bovine super
cuhn were used.
1t was only on the publication recently
in the Herald of a comment on the in
oculation tests that for the first time it
came to the knowledge of citizens OF
Philadelphia that experimental medicine
had been practiced upon helpless wards
of the community, fatherless and moth
erfess babies.
The medical men engaged in such out
rageous exploitation of helpless babies
were highly indignant at the interference
of the New York newspaper with what
they claim they have an absolute right
to do in the investigation of diseases
and it does not appear that they can
legally be prevented from such practices
since the orphans are under public con-
troll, and being paupers and unable te
resist, are proper subjects of vivisectior
and experiment that may give the little
/ ones great and in many cases permanent
| suffering, when not costing their lives
From this point of view it may be
considered fortunate that the orphan
children in Louisiana are in privately
supported asylums, and the government
can claim no authority over them. Re.
| grets have been expressed professionally
that the Charity Hospital, which is ;
State institution, is not sufficiently undei
the control of the medical profession, Sc
that its inmates may be made the sub
| jects of professional exploitation. lie
us hope that it will be long time be
fore the yivisection of human beings viii
be allowed in New Orleans, as it is il
Philadelphia.