Pharmaceuticals drug testing and Vegans?!

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I'm Vegan and I don't use any type of drugs or vaccines (mainly because they aren't Vegan but also because of health risks). In some very specific situations (i.e. drug is required to save my life) I would use them because I am not any good as an activist if I'm dead. In less extreme situations, regardless of how sick I am or how much pain I am in, I will not take medications. The lives of innocent, sentient beings are infinitely more important than alleviating a little bit of personal pain.

For an example... I had a root canal infection, I went to bed at 10pm one night and didn't fall asleep until 11am, 13 hours later, because of the pain. I think it took 5 hours another night. It was about the most pain I've ever been in. (worse than most parts of my broken leg) I could have taken painkillers but did not. However, I did go to the dentist a few days later despite the fact that the procedures may not be Vegan (however I did do some checking to make them as Vegan as possible) because the infection was not going to go away on its own and likely spread, and I can't be an effective activist if I am in constant extreme pain and have an infection spreading throughout my mouth/body.
I did not take painkillers because that is harming innocent life just to take away temporary pain, but getting the infection healed was necessary so that I may continue to be an effective activist.

I can't say all Vegans would do the same, but I hope that most would be strong enough to do what is right.

Vaccines also contain animal ingredients, such as fetal bovine serum, pig gelatin, and egg protein.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkboo…

Here is how they collect the fetal bovine serum. It's not nice.
http://tools.invitrogen.com/content/sfs/… (page 4)

I do know that some vegans avoid vaccines because of the ingredients.

Hello

I think you will find that yes avoiding vaccinations and pharmacy medications is often done. More natural routes such as holistic therapies and treatments are preferred. However, saying that if there ever comes a time when a person is in a car crash and needs anaesthetic for something, opinions may change for that day. Its a lifetstyle of avoiding and minimising, not exploiting.

YOU will likely find three categories of answers from vegans : 1) from kids who would flat out declare in black and white that they would rather die than take a animal tested medicine 2) from older vegans who avoid expressing such no compromise positions when this type of question comes up but have expressed the same "never" mantra before many times. In other words vegans of convenience, both in arguments and in practice. Merely mouthing off the usual mantras whenever it suits them then making convenient excuses and quickly made up "rules" from which they can excuse themselves and 3) vegans who are far more practical and realistic who follow the vegan lifestyle to MINIMIZE, not totally eliminate, their personal contribution to what they perceive as animal suffering and exploitation. They live a practical life based on personal principles rather than to a set of non existent rules that the first two try to preach whether anyone listens or not. . You will find this last group to be more tolerant and less militant in their views. No one liners, no cliches, just common sense. As one vegan here keeps saying (she had diabetes when she was a vegetarian and developed cancer as a vegan), her lifestyle is not about martyrdom

Personally, since as you have mentioned, there is almost no escaping the fact that a drug or procedure have been tested and continue to be tested on animals, my options are limited to not taking the drug/having the procedure and let the illness/condition progress, or at least attempt to save myself (and that of my loved ones if it comes to that) at the expense of some animal. My choice would be the latter since whether I approve or not, animal testing does occur.and like that vegan, I don't intend to be a martyr.

I think that it's a matter of priorities. I believe strongly in animal rights, and I also believe that regular consumption of animal products is responsible for many modern health problems. That being said, I weigh the relative positive effects of the use of pharmaceuticals, and at least to me animal lives are well spent. There are a lot of ways to kill FEWER animals in the healthcare industry, like replacing gelatin capsules with vegan/vegetarian capsules and exchanging animal derived vitamins and supplements with those from plant sources, but I think that healthcare would be one of FEW valid uses for animal products.