Refusing to do schoolwork can get kids grounded. But when mom is supportive and the assignment is dissection, don’t worry. In fact, Jamie Lee Curtis is so happy that her daughter, Annie, is an animal rights activist, she bragged about it on TV!

Curtis has decorated her new car with PETA’s “Proud Parent of a Student Who Won’t Dissect” bumper sticker for “Cut Out Dissection” Month which is observed during October. Curtis knows students don’t need to kill frogs to learn about life. She also wants parents to feel secure knowing that their children’s education will not suffer if they refuse to dissect. Innovative computer programs and models provide effective, healthier and humane alternatives to poking around in a smelly, formaldehyde-laden corpse.

The Unkindest Cut
Sadly, millions of animals are still dissected in North American schools every year, including frogs, cats, dogs, pigs, mice, rabbits, fish and worms. Frogs are snatched from ponds and streams. Cats may come from animal dealers, breeding facilities, thieves and even “free to a good home” ads. PETA’s undercover investigation at one major biological supply company showed live animals being kicked and jabbed with metal rods, a rabbit being drowned and cats and rats injected with formaldehyde while they were still moving.

Outlawed!
Today, many countries, including Argentina, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark, have banned school dissection, and most other countries do not require it. In the U.S., many states, including Pennsylvania, California, Florida and New York, have enacted laws giving students the right to refuse to dissect.

For Annie, a staunch vegan, dissecting a frog was never an option. “It’s just something I could never, ever do,” she says. “I love animals. I’ll never hurt them.” Annie shuns dairy products, leather and cosmetics tested on animals. She’s also the reason why mom Jamie Lee is quick to point out that any fur trim on her clothes is fake.

Compassion runs in the family. Annie’s grandmother, Psycho star Janet Leigh, spoke up for fish last year, joining PETA’s campaign to persuade the U.S. Park Service to ban fishing in national parks.