In TV Ad, Wayne State Alumni Lily Tomlin, Ernie Hudson Call Out University’s “Extreme” Dog Experiments, Urge Legislature to Pass Queenie’s Law

LANSING, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a TV ad airing today in Grand Rapids and Detroit, actors and Wayne State alumni Lily Tomlin and Ernie Hudson call out their alma mater for killing dogs in invasive experiments and urge Michiganders to contact their legislators. Working with the medical ethics nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Tomlin and Hudson also sent a letter to House Speaker Matt Hall and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks to advance Queenie’s Law. The legislation, which will be discussed in the House Regulatory Reform Committee on Thursday, would prohibit taxpayer-funded institutions from using dogs in painful experiments. A longer version of the ad is streaming on YouTube.

“For over 30 years,” Tomlin says in the ad, “experimenters at Wayne State have subjected dogs to extreme procedures.” Hudson adds, “Lily and I both grew up in Michigan and attended Wayne State, so we really wish this weren’t true. ... Fortunately, there’s a bill in the Michigan Legislature that could end this.”

HB 4254 and SB 127—both known as Queenie’s Law—were introduced earlier this year by Rep. Joe Aragona (R-Clinton Township) and Sen. Paul Wojno (D-Warren). The bills were sparked by Wayne State’s experiments, which have resulted in the deaths of more than 150 dogs since 2010, according to public records obtained by the Physicians Committee.

In their letter, Tomlin and Hudson share the story of Dog 3003. According to public records, Wayne State employees subjected the beagle to a surgical procedure in August 2024, inserting a catheter into the fluid between his spine and the surrounding membranes. Later that day, he started crying in pain (“vocalizing”) and was unable to stand up on his back legs, showing signs of “paralysis.” A few hours later, Dog 3003’s records show he was still crying (“cont. vocalizations”) and in “pain.” The records also noted “self-trauma” to his hind leg(s). Wayne State eventually euthanized Dog 3003.

“We are grateful that Lily and Ernie are speaking up for dogs in Michigan,” said Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy for the Physicians Committee. “It’s time for Speaker Hall and Majority Leader Brinks to pass Queenie’s Law and end these dead-end, taxpayer-funded experiments.”

In the experiments, conducted since 1991, university employees conduct multiple surgeries on each dog in which they cut open the animals’ chest cavities, insert devices in and around major blood vessels, stab catheters into their hearts, insert catheters between the dogs’ spines and the surrounding membranes, and “tunnel” cables and wires under their skin and out between their shoulder blades. The employees also feed the dogs a high fat diet, which increases the animals’ risk of stroke. The dogs who survive the intensive surgeries are forced to run on treadmills while experimenters drastically raise their heart rates using implanted devices. This is repeated for days, weeks, or even months.

The experiments are purposely designed to kill the dogs. Public records reveal that dogs at Wayne State routinely suffer infections and severe internal bleeding before they are killed. In some cases, dogs have struggled to breathe as their chest cavities painfully fill with blood. Several dogs have been found dead in their cages.

Wayne State has received $15 million in public funds for the experiments, which have been criticized by experts who conduct heart failure studies with human patients. In contrast, human-relevant methods like trials involving patients, population studies, and the use of donated human hearts are producing results. In 2015, the Texas Heart Institute, dedicated solely to addressing cardiovascular disease, stopped using dogs altogether.

To speak with Mr. Merkley or see the letter to Speaker Hall and Majority Leader Brinks or Dog 3003’s records, please contact Reina Pohl at 202-527-7326 or [e-mail].

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.