May 17, 2006

Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., Director

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

31 Center Dr.

Bldg. 31, Rm. 5A52 MSC 2486

Bethesda, MD  20892-2486

Re:  Grant given to Kathleen O'Hagan, Ph.D. for animal research

Dear Dr. Nabel:

I am writing to voice my objection to the research performed by Kathleen O'Hagan of Midwestern University, IL, as underwritten by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.  A review of Kathleen O'Hagan's past work – which, like her current project, uses rabbits, both pregnant and non-pregnant, as her primary research "tools" – reveals both its highly invasive nature and the fact that it has resulted in the deaths of dozens of rabbits and their offspring.  The "invasive" aspect of her work has included the implantation of flowprobes inside rabbits' bodies, strapping monitoring devices to their backs, anchoring cannula units to their skulls, and surgically denervating their kidneys.  Other objectionable procedures have included, but were not necessarily limited to, forcing rabbits to inhale cigarette smoke, injecting them with vasoconstrictors, and forcing them to run on a treadmill to the point of exhaustion.

O'Hagan's research comprises a lengthy history of what would clearly be considered animal abuse were it not taking place in a research setting.  Yet the goal of her work – to study the relationship of exercise and pregnancy in women via rabbit models – is questionable both scientifically and (in my opinion) ethically.  Physiological differences between humans and rabbits are great enough to make their use in this particular area of research doubtful; such discoveries as O'Hagan has made thus far have resulted in little more than minor advancements of our understanding of how adversely conditioned rabbits are affected during pregnancy.  This begs the question of whether or not your continued sponsorship of such research will result in any improvement in the health and well-being of pregnant women.  Balanced against the far-fetched and, I believe, misplaced hope that it will is the suffering and deaths of innumerable rabbits and their offspring.  That these animals are capable of suffering cannot reasonably be doubted; that their suffering becomes a matter of little consequence to researchers such as O'Hagan is a truism which cannot, in my opinion, be convincingly refuted.  The experimental protocol for O'Hagan's latest project again includes the implantation of flowprobes, attachment of hardware to the rabbits' backs, injection with drugs, forced exercise on a treadmill, and then, when their usefulness as living investigatory tools is at an end, death for both the pregnant rabbits and their still unborn offspring.

I request that this research be stopped.  It is neither efficacious nor ethical.  Please rescind your funding of Kathleen O'Hagan's cruel and useless research.

Yours sincerely & etc. . . .