Ask your U.S. Representative to support the HEARTS Act
The American Bar Association (ABA), the largest voluntary professional association in the world which represents the legal profession in the United States, has called on governments to promote and create incentives for the use of non-animal testing methods in its first ever statement on animal testing.
We were one of the lead co-authors of the information report and the resolution which was voted on by members at the ABA’s midyear meeting.
The report highlights how the use and further development of NAMs will advance animal wellbeing, foster innovation, protect the environment, and improve the value for money of taxpayer-funded research investments leading to safer products and better-quality medicines.
The resolution also recognizes the importance of the bipartisan Humane and Existing Alternatives in Research and Testing Sciences (HEARTS) Act (H.R. 1024, 118th Cong.), which addresses specific shortcomings in existing law governing research proposals funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Watch a short video about the HEARTS Act below:
The resolution was sponsored by the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (which houses the Animal Law Section) of the ABA, along with the International Law Section and the Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, and gained the support of the Science and Technology Law section and the Health Law section.
Founded in 1878, the ABA provides leadership in legal ethics and professional responsibility through the adoption of professional standards that serve as models of regulatory law governing the legal profession. This is the first time that the ABA’s House of Delegates, the group which creates ABA policy, has spoken on animal testing.
Our North America Head of Public Affairs, Monica Engebretson, is a member of the Science and Technology subcommittee of the Animal Law Committee of the ABA’s Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section, and said, “The ABA resolution is testament to the scientific and ethical progress that continues to bring us closer to replacing the use of animals in science with humane and human-relevant methods. The recognition of the HEARTS Act in the report is a further boost for this vital piece of legislation which provides a balanced approach to advance science, promote human health, protect the environment, and spare animals’ lives.
“We now hope that the U.S. federal government, as well as national governments around the world, will begin to prioritize the use and further development of non-animal methods.”
The full Resolution and Report can be found here on the ABA website.
U.S. residents can help advance the HEARTS Act by contacting their U.S. Representative and asking that they become a cosponsor of the bill. Take action by using the simple tool on our website below