End abominable birth experiments on baboons

A CAARE investigation uncovered shocking experiments on pregnant baboons and their babies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). NIH records show that researchers repeatedly impregnate baboons, cut their unborn babies out by cesarean section, and subject both mothers and infants to painful, lethal procedures. Some infants are killed immediately after birth; others endure invasive tests involving catheters, insulin surges, and organ biopsies. Despite decades without human benefit, these experiments are approved through 2029 and have led to repeated federal violations.

CAARE emphasizes that human studies show no link between low estrogen and childhood diabetes—the opposite may be true. …

A CAARE investigation uncovered shocking experiments on pregnant baboons and their babies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). NIH records show that researchers repeatedly impregnate baboons, cut their unborn babies out by cesarean section, and subject both mothers and infants to painful, lethal procedures. Some infants are killed immediately after birth; others endure invasive tests involving catheters, insulin surges, and organ biopsies. Despite decades without human benefit, these experiments are approved through 2029 and have led to repeated federal violations.

CAARE emphasizes that human studies show no link between low estrogen and childhood diabetes—the opposite may be true. Humane, modern alternatives such as 3D bioprinted mini-placentas, organoid and organ-chip systems, and advanced MRI and ultrasound imaging can study pregnancy safely and effectively. Join CAARE in urging NIH and UMB to end these cruel, outdated experiments and adopt ethical, human-based science.

+

Tell UMB to stop cruel experiments on pregnant baboons and their infants

Compose your email

Name

Email

Subject:

I am writing to express my profound alarm and to demand the immediate termination of the cruel and scientifically baseless experiments involving pregnant baboons and their infants at the University of Maryland Baltimore, (UMB) which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) currently funds through at least 2029.

In crude experiments at UMB, female baboons are confined for life, denied basic social and environmental needs, and impregnated, enduring multiple invasive surgeries—often in violation of federal rules regarding the number of allowed surgeries. The current research protocol dictates that 224 baboon fetuses will be cut out of their mothers via C-section and immediately killed for analysis. Some surviving infants are subjected to numerous painful and invasive procedures, including heart catheters, induced insulin surges, and multiple organ biopsies, before potentially being reused in future experiments.

This research is not only ethically monstrous but clinically irrelevant. After at least 25 years, these experiments have not produced any treatments for human mothers or babies. The premise of investigating low maternal estrogen directly conflicts with decades of human clinical data, underscoring how animal experiments remain unreliable and ineffective with more than 90% of animal experiments failing to translate to human biology.

These experiments must end and be replaced by non-animal methods for studying human pregnancy and fetal development. Scientists have developed 3D-bioprinted mini-placentas and multi-organ-chip systems incorporating the placenta, which enable human-relevant studies of development in vitro. Advanced imaging techniques, such as pseudocontinuous Arterial Spin Labeling (pCASL), 3D MRI and high-resolution ultrasound, enable researchers to accurately measure and study placental blood flow, along with detection and monitoring of fetal development.

We call on NIH to cease all financial support and for UMB to immediately halt these deadly and outdated experiments and rehome all surviving baboons. Resources must be urgently redirected toward humane, modern, and scientifically superior research methods that will genuinely benefit human health.

How we use the data you enter on this form

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?