Name change protests dissections

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- You can call her CutoutDissection.com, Cutout for short, but just don't call her Jennifer.

The former Jennifer Thornburg -- whose driver's license now reads Dissection.com, Cutout -- wanted to do something to protest animal dissections in schools.

The 19-year-old's new name is also the web address for an anti-dissection page of the site for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, where she is interning.

"I normally do have to repeat my name several times when I am introducing myself to someone new," she told The Asheville Citizen-Times. "Once they find out what my name is, they want to know more about what the website is about."

The Asheville High School graduate who's working in Virginia said she began opposing dissections in middle school after a class assignment to cut up a chicken wing made her uncomfortable. She helped create a policy at her high school that allows students who object to dissections to complete an alternative assignment.

Despite her legally changing the name, she said most of her family members still call her Jennifer.

"It will take me a while," said her dad, Duane Thornburg, who lives in Daytona Beach, Fla. "She's still Jennifer to me. I understand why she's done it. Believe it or not, I totally respect it."

A CD showing the treatment of animals before they are dissected finally convinced him to support his daughter's cause, he said.

On the Net

• PETA interview with Cutout Dissection.com: tinyurl.com/3zz2uu