Medical School Official ‘Fed Up’ With OHSU; PETA Knows How He Feels

For Immediate Release:
February 29, 2024

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Shalin Gala regarding a call from Dr. Jeffrey Jensen, Oregon Health & Science University vice chair for research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, for a public demonstration of support for David Jacoby, the former dean of the School of Medicine, who resigned at the urging of the university’s president, following allegations that he mishandled the case of a doctor who allegedly had secretly taken pictures of women in his class without their permission:

Dr. Jeffrey Jensen said that there needs to be a “call to action” because he is “fed up” with how “unsettled” the school is. PETA understands how he feels. For months, we have tried to get Jensen and other school officials to listen to reason and reform the OB/GYN residency program, in which doctors in training are forced to practice cruel and invasive procedures on live female pigs, despite their significant anatomical differences from humans. Dozens of similar programs successfully use human-relevant simulators, which are equal or even superior to live-animal training.

OHSU should redirect its resources toward modern, non-animal training methods, which would benefit pigs, physicians, and patients alike. Now that Jacoby is out, the new dean of the School of Medicine should ensure that this happens.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA supporters will crash Jensen’s faculty demonstration with a counter-protest, calling out Jacoby for allowing at least 64 OB/GYN residents at OHSU to cut into up to 48 live female pigs, dissect their organs, and perform other invasive surgeries on them in attempts to learn human medicine:

Where:    Mackenzie Hall Courtyard, 3266 SW Research Drive, Portland

When:    Thursday, February 29, 12 noon