In Honor of Kim Howe

My colleagues and I are deeply saddened by the tragic death of our longtime friend and supporter Kim Howe.

She passed away several days ago in the unfortunate four-car accident involving Bruce Jenner. In light of the very public media coverage of the accident, we wanted to publicly honor Kim’s life and her dedication to our mission.

Kim was a compassionate person and a dear friend—to me personally and especially to animals. She was especially troubled by the use of animals in laboratory experiments and was eager to replace them with other research methods.

We met in 1989, shortly after I founded the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Kim became one of my biggest supporters right from the start. She and her husband Bob visited our offices, and we remained friends ever since.

Kim spoke frequently with her congressional representatives and even joined Toastmasters to develop her speaking skills in order to offer the strongest support possible to our campaigns to improve medical research and education. In Kim’s own words, “Most people think of animals as things to be used and thrown away. They do not stop to think that they have feelings and that we do not have the right to inflict pain on them and abuse them.”

We want her memory to live on and will continue to work toward the goal she believed in. Thank you, Kim. You will be missed.