The Ethics of Medical Animal Testing

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In all matters, including medicine, the well-being of the human race comes before any other consideration. This is the justification for the use of nonhuman animal testing in medicine. Of course this argument brings issues into play that are both ethical and professional and need exploring before a definitive answer can be given.

The Rights of “Lesser Life Forms”

Animals have rights. This is a statement that very few people will disagree with. Animal cruelty as an end unto itself (i.e. for entertainment) is just wrong. Short of being a sociopath I really can’t imagine anyone saying or thinking otherwise. The real ethical question comes when humanity can benefit from a “cruelty” committed against an animal.

As far as life on this planet goes, we appear to be at the pinnacle of creation. Though we have only been here for less than the blinking of an eye, as far as our small planet is concerned, we have achieved heights unparalleled by any species to grace the world before us. Because of this we have looked at the rest of existence as lesser than us and therefore present for our use.

A Respect for All Life

This view of superiority has begun to diminish only very lately. The first reason for this elevated respect for nonhuman animals comes from the same source as our concern for our fellow human beings: compassion. As a species humans have, for whatever reason, developed the ability to conceptualize ourselves in the place of other things we observe. While this ability is strongest when dealing with other humans, it is even possible to do this with humans. This is of course followed by hard reasoning as to why nonhuman animals do have rights.

Peter Singer, a professor in bioethics, is believed by some to have beg...

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...ights movement; http://www.animalrights.net/

Research Defense Society; an organization supporting animal testing; http://www.rds-online.org.uk/home.html

Seriously Ill for Medical Research; an organization supporting animal testing ( he has even posted his hate mail); http://www.simr.org.uk/pages/simr/index.html

Federal Food and Drug Administration; The US’s legal authority on animal testing; http://www.fda.gov

Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine; an organization against animal testing; http://www.pcrm.org/issues/Animal_Experimentation_Issues/animal_issues.html

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals; Animals’ rights group; http://www.peta.com

Seriously Ill Against Vivisection; an organization against animal testing; http://www.siav.com

Peter Singer Links; A site dedicated to Peter Singer and his works; http://www.petersingerlinks.com/

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