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 The March of Dimes collects millions of dollars in donations every year. Its stated goal is to help babies by preventing birth defects. But most donors who generously open their pocketbooks are unaware that their gifts may help to fund painful experiments on animals. The charity funnels more than a million dollars annually into laboratory studies that have included the use of primates, rats, mice, cats, dogs, rabbits, pigs, sheep, guinea pigs, opossums, and other species—hurting these animals with money that could go toward helping the infants whose lives depend upon the wise use of funds.
 The charity is tight-lipped about the animal studies that it has paid for through the years, but PETA researchers have uncovered journal articles that read like a “how to” guide for Frankenstein “scientists.” March of Dimes-funded experimenters have:
• sewn shut newborn kittens’ eyes, then killed them after they had endured a year of blindness
• kept newborn kittens in completely dark chambers, then killed them after three to five months
• removed fetal kittens from the uterus, implanted pumps on their backs to inject a drug that destroys nerves, reimplanted the fetuses in the uterus, then, after they were born, killed and studied them
• implanted electric pumps on the backs of pregnant rats to inject nicotine, even though the dangers of cigarette smoking to human babies were already known
• injected pregnant rats with cocaine, even though the dangers of cocaine to human babies is already known
• injected newborn opossums with alcohol, decapitated them an hour to 32 weeks later, and removed and studied the gonads (immature sexual organs), even though the dangers of alcohol to human babies is well known
• transplanted organs from pigs to baboons, most of whom died within hours
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Don’t betray our babies!
These PETA parents refuse to support the March of Dimes, which takes money away from progressive programs that would help infants and wastes it on animal tests.
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• destroyed the eardrums of unborn lambs, then killed the mother sheep and lambs just before birth to examine their brains.
Despite decades of animal deaths in March of Dimes-funded laboratories, the incidence of birth defects is now rising! The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that of 38 kinds of birth defects studied over a 10-year period, 27 have increased in frequency, nine occur at the same rate as in previous years, and only two have decreased.
The bottom line is that animals are not good models for people. While all animals experience pain, human physiology is vastly different from that of a cat or an opossum. Testing chemicals and drugs on animals tells us little of relevance about what happens to pregnant women and babies exposed to the same substances because of what birth-defect researchers call “Karnofsky’s Law”: Any substance can harm fetal development if given in the right dosage to the right species at the right time.
Animal studies can also be dangerous to babies. One example among many: The antibiotic streptomycin was tested on dogs, guinea-pigs, and pigs and deemed safe. Yet infants given the drug suffered brain damage, deafness, blindness and even death.
Please, help us persuade the March of Dimes to spend its donations more
 Jamba Juice Puts Squeeze on the March of Dimes
At PETA’s urging, juice bar chain Jamba Juice told the March of Dimes that no proceeds from its sponsorship could be used to fund animal experiments.
The March of Dimes gave an assurance that “all funds raised ... will be for education and will not be used for any research projects involving animals.” Jamba Juice now plans to support only cruelty-free charities. |
  • Tell the president of the March of Dimes that you will donate only to health charities that don’t fund animal tests.
Jennifer Howse, President
March of Dimes
1275 Mamaroneck Ave.
White Plains, NY 10605
Tel.: 1-888-MODIMES (1-888-663-4637)
Fax: 914-428-8203
E-Mail: Jhowse@modimes.org
• If your workplace gives to the March of Dimes, ask that donations instead be given to charities that don’t harm animals.
• Spread the word to others: Write a letter to the editor.
• Organize a demonstration at your local March of Dimes office and fundraisers (call PETA for supplies and help).
• Sponsor a PETA March of Dimes billboard.
• Contact PETA for a free action pack, or visit our Web site at MarchOfCrimes.org.
• Donate only to cruelty-free charities such as Easter Seals in the U.S. and Canada and to Invalid Children’s Aid in the U.K. Contact PETA for a free guide to charities that do and that don’t fund animal experiments.
 • Bank of America is a corporate sponsor of the March of Dimes. Ask the bank to switch to a cruelty-free charity or earmark donations only for non-animal research. Write to: Kenneth D. Lewis, Chair, CEO, and President, Bank of America, NC1-007-56-01, 100 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28255.
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