Congratulations to D.C. Councilmember, Avon, and Humane Research
District of Columbia Councilwoman Mary Cheh showed her support for humane research this May when she participated in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Washington.
 Cheh is a breast cancer survivor and a strong supporter of nonanimal medical research. She and her colleagues wore hot pink Humane Seal T-shirts to highlight the Avon Foundation’s commitment to humane breast cancer research. PCRM staff members held “Team Cheh Rocks!” signs and cheered on the team as it passed.
Avon has received the Humane Charity Seal of Approval because it funds innovative human-centered breast cancer research and does not support animal research.
Avon and the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, another humane charity, have formed the Love/Avon Army of Women initiative to recruit 1 million healthy women to directly participate in breast cancer research. Almost 300,000 women have already joined. This movement will focus on identifying factors that increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Go to HumaneSeal.org for more information.
Approved… But It’s Fake
The Government Accountability Office found major flaws in the system for approving medical research. In a disconcerting test, the agency won approval for a fake product to be used in testing and registered a fictitious medical review board.
Any drug or device used in federally funded testing on humans must be approved by an institutional review board of scientists. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was able to register a fictitious review board—headed up by a dog named Trooper—with the Department of Health and Human Services.
In a separate test, a real institutional review board based in Colorado Springs, Colo., approved a medical protocol that would have required doctors to pour an entire liter of a GAO-fabricated product into a woman’s stomach after surgery.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said the findings raise serious questions about “the entire system for approving experimental testing on human beings.”
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