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University of California Press

About the Book

In this sweeping history of animal research and the animal protection movement, Deborah Rudacille examines the ethical question of whether enhancement of human life justifies the use of animals for research. She shows how the question and the answers provided by both scientists and anti-vivisectionists over the past 150 years have shaped contemporary society. Rudacille anchors her narrative in events from the lives of key players in the history of the war between science and animal protection, describing the work of activists who work outside the law as well as those working to change the system from within.

About the Author

Deborah Rudacille was researcher/writer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing from 1992 to 1997. She is the coauthor of Animals and Alternatives in Testing: History, Science and Ethics (1994) and the author of The Riddle of Gender.

Table of Contents

Introduction 
ONE. Viruses, Vaccines, and Vivisection 
TWO. The Kingdom of the Spirit 
THREE. The Dogs of War 
FOUR. Nazi Healing 
FIVE. Polio Politics 
SIX. The New Crusaders 
SEVEN. Stalking the Shadow 
EIGHT. Saints and Sinners 
NINE. Engineering Life 
TEN. Animals, Science, and the Body 
ELEVEN. Partial Transformations 
Epilogue 
Notes 
References 
Resources 
Acknowledgments 
Index 
 

Reviews

"We are entering a new era in the question of animal rights. Nowhere is this extremely important issue more cogently discussed than in The Scalpel and the Butterfly. Those who believe, as I do, that animals have rights far beyond those that we at present accord them should arm themselves with the information in this valuable book."—Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

"Must reading for biomedical researchers and indeed for anyone concerned about the ethics of human and animal experimentation. Rudacille is fair to both camps--she exposes both the merits and the weaknesses of the animal rights advocates and of the researchers, and tellingly recounts changes in our attitudes over time that dramatically illustrate the need for open minds and the willingness to change behavior when warranted by the evidence."—Louis Lasagna, Tufts University School of Medicine