Excellent post, Aleser. I thank you for sharing your first hand experience on this matter. I have absolutely no objection to those who chose a Vegan lifestyle, whether it be for health concerns or for ethical concerns. As a matter of fact, I admire the dedication it takes to adhere to a Vegan diet. My problem is with those who use a personal choice to dedicate themselves to a Vegan lifestyle to protest against those procedures that can and do save lives and improve quality of life for millions. Especially when they claim that the Vegan diet is far healthier, and then deny the opportunity to achieve greater health to others through protest of proper scientific testing of medications and procedures. I certainly don't object to the ethical principles behind the Vegan choice. What I object to is the distortion of those ethical principles that would require sacrificing human life in favor of protecting animal life.
Eh, I put it right up with the old days of using animal-based insulin.. you weren't 'really' a vegan in some people's eyes if you decided to stay alive by using it. There are simply some people, most often the healthy ones never faced with their life versus an animal's life, that will not look beyond their 'truth' in the situation and accept the reality- your choices do not save the world, and they don't give you the right to judge it.
I suppose arguing it is moot point, though. My own sig should remind me of how silly it is.