Feminist Actor Ally Sheedy Takes on Columbia Cruelty

Ally Sheedy has won critical acclaim for her starring performances in The Breakfast Club, High Art, and other films and has received Best Actress awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics’ Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. Outside the glare of the Hollywood spotlight, Sheedy has been a star for animals.

Recently, Sheedy learned that a Columbia University experimenter surgically implants heavy pipes into the craniums of rhesus macaque monkeys to “investigate” the connection between stress and the menstrual cycle. Sheedy immediately fired off a letter to Columbia President Lee Bollinger, demanding that the horrendous experiment be suspended along with two others involving baboons: nicotine experiments on pregnant females, and grotesquely invasive stroke experiments.

Columbia’s cruelty first came to light after a courageous former Columbia University veterinarian turned to PETA for help when her attempts to improve the conditions in the labs through internal channels failed. Monkeys and baboons languish for years in barren metal-and-concrete cells and undergo invasive surgeries without appropriate pain relief.

Historically, the medical establishment has given short shrift to women’s health concerns. In contrast to the millions of federal dollars funding Columbia’s torment of monkeys, only a pittance goes toward preventive measures, public health education, and clinical work with women.

Ally Sheedy is one of several celebrities supporting PETA’s call for an end to Columbia’s cruel experiments. She closes her letter with a final plea: “As a proud New Yorker and neighbor to the Columbia campus, I urge you to do everything in your power to address these allegations promptly. They cast a dark shadow on the face of Columbia and on our great city.”

For more information and to find out what you can do to help, please visit ColumbiaCruelty.com.

Click here to read Ally Sheedy’s letter to Lee Bollinger.