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Don’t Let the FDA Call for Tests on Animals for Menstrual Products—Speak Out!

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With one click, you can support modern test methods that don’t use animals. Read on to find out how.

Unlike any other government agency in the world and without evidence of new health risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may now require companies to conduct animal testing for menstrual products, such as tampons, pads, and cups—even when modern animal-free test methods are available.

The FDA is planning to put this new animal testing policy in place at the same time it claims on its website’s front page to have reduced its animal testing requirements. This is a problem, and manufacturers of these products agree—the FDA’s proposed policy is creating confusion that will not protect humans, but instead, will likely result in more tests on animals.

In one type of test, rabbits are injected with a substance and restrained while their temperature is taken rectally—for hours at a time—before being killed or used in other tests. In another, guinea pigs are injected multiple times with a test substance to see if their skin becomes itchy, inflamed, or otherwise painful before meeting the same fate. The list of animal tests goes on and on.

Here’s What You Can Do

Many caring consumers have pledged not to use products tested on animals, and many companies have pledged not to test on animals. Don’t let the FDA force companies to abandon good science.

Please add your name to a letter that PETA will share with the FDA, showing support for animal-free science to ensure that safe menstrual products are on the market.

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Prioritize Non-Animal Testing Approaches to Assess Menstrual Products

We are writing to express our deep concern that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to require menstrual product manufacturers to conduct animal testing for tampons, menstrual pads, and cups even when non-animal testing methods exist and the FDA’s own website claims that the agency is reducing animal testing requirements.

If the FDA is interested in addressing a scientific question, it must do so using reliable and human-relevant, non-animal testing approaches, in addition to relying on evidence drawn from years of product use. The agency’s resistance to fostering the use of modern approaches to evaluate menstrual products causes problems for the public and manufacturers that have pledged not to support animal testing due to ethical issues, as well as the availability of better, animal-free approaches.

We are concerned about the FDA’s resistance to embracing human-relevant science, and request that the FDA prioritize human-relevant, non-animal testing approaches that can best protect consumers. Thank you for your attention to this important public health issue.

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