Animals in Biomedical Research

1193 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Why should animals be used for research

“How can otherwise decent citizens do these things? How can they become so insensitive to what they are doing? Don Barnes, who spent sixteen years as a biomedical scientist experimenting on animals, and now heads the Washington, DC office of the National Anti-Vivisection Society, calls the state in which he used to do his work 'conditioned ethical blindness'” (Singer and Gruen 78-80). As a former vivisector, Barnes worked with monkeys and would cut them open while they were still alive. With a primary interest of biological science, vivisectors performed experiments on living animals to advance the understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. These studies are the few of many branches of biomedical science, the combination biology and medicine which mainly focuses on the health of both animals and humans. Animals are used as “models” for studying human biology and disease to understand basic biology, and as test subjects for the development of drugs, vaccines, antibodies and other medical treatments to improve and advance human health. As models, scientists aim to artificially produce a condition in a laboratory animal that may resemble the human equivalent of a medical disease or injury. Scientists may have good intentions but many do not realize that they are committing a great inhumanity as they continue to exploit animals for the “greater good”. Tom Regan came up with a similar conclusion:
I ask myself the same kinds of question. “Would these changes make a difference in my thinking? Would I say, ‘Well, since the cat lived in a larger cage, was treated gently, and died peacefully, I no longer object to what happened to her’?” My answer is always the same. I would still object to what happened to her…even ...

... middle of paper ...

...elmeier. "Translation of Research Evidence from Animals to Humans." Jama : the Journal of the American Medical Association. 296.14 (2006): 1731-2. Print.
Matthews, R.A.J. "Medical Progress Depends on Animal Models - Doesn't It?" Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 101.2 (2008): 95-98. Print.
Gruen, Lori, Peter Singer, and David Hine. Animal Liberation: A Graphic Guide. London: Camden, 1987. Print.
"Animal Research Alternatives" The American Anti-Vivisection Society. N.p., 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
Scientific and Humane Issues in the Use of Random Source Dogs and Cats in Research. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press, 2009. Print.
Hester, R E, and Roy M. Harrison. Alternatives to Animal Testing. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2006. Internet resource.
“What is Vivisection?” New England Anti-Vivisection Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014

Show More
Related

  • Testing on Animals: Behind the Eight Ball

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Frequently Asked Questions." The Truth About Vivisection. In Defense of Animals, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Animal Testing Dbq

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    The information that animals have provided scientists over the past decades has changed society, and is still changing society for the better. Millions of lives have been saved with the use of animal testing and many more will be saved with continued research. However, there are many who dismiss this monumental achievement completely and oppose the use of animals in laboratory research. Though many find this practice to be

    Read More

  • Michael Hanlon's Vivisection Is Right?

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine a puppy spending his entire life in a locked cage where he is deprived of food and water, and force-fed chemicals from time to time. This is the life of animals in a laboratory. Live-animal experimentation, also known as vivisection, is not only unethical, but also cruel and unnecessary. In the article “Vivisection is Right, but it is Nasty- and We must be Brave Enough to Admit This”, Michael Hanlon claims vivisection is a moral necessity that without the use of animals in the laboratory, humans would not have modern medicine like antibiotics, analgesic, and cancer drugs (1). For example, Hanlon believes sewing kittens’ eyelids together can aid researchers to study the effects of amblyopia in children (1). Conversely, the use of animals

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Animal Use in Biomedical Research

    1849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Both in and out of philosophical circle, animals have traditionally been seen as significantly different from, and inferior to, humans because they lacked a certain intangible quality – reason, moral agency, or consciousness – that made them moral agents. Recently however, society has patently begun to move beyond this strong anthropocentric notion and has begun to reach for a more adequate set of moral categories for guiding, assessing and constraining our treatment of other animals. As a growing proportion of the populations in western countries adopts the general position of animal liberation, more and more philosophers are beginning to agree that sentient creatures are of a direct moral concern to humans, though the degree of this concern is still subject to much disagreement. The political, cultural and philosophical animal liberation movement demands for a fundamental transformation of humans’ present relations to all sentient animals. They reject the idea that animals are merely human resources, and instead claim that they have value and worth in themselves. Animals are used, among other things, in basic biomedical research whose purpose is to increase knowledge about the basic processes of human anatomy. The fundamental wrong with this type of research is that it allows humans to see animals as here for them, to be surgically manipulated and exploited for money. The use of animals as subjects in biomedical research brings forth two main underlying ethical issues: firstly, the imposition of avoidable suffering on creatures capable of both sensation and consciousness, and secondly the uncertainty pertaining to the notion of animal rights.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography On Animal Testing

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    STATEMENT OF USE: “Although many key questions can still only be answered by animal studies, non-animal methods now account for 90% of medical research and include mathematical and computer models, advanced tissue and cell cultures, and scanning technology.” This information will take a great stance in my paper once more research is done about it. Animals do not need to be used to understand biomedical medicine and knowledge. They are not models for anything society taunts them to be. (76

    Read More

  • Let's Put an End to Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation

    2009 Words  | 5 Pages

    Without animal research, cures for such diseases as typhoid, diphtheria, and polio might never have existed. Without animal research, the development of antibiotics and insulin would have been delayed. Without animal research, many human beings would now be dead. However, because of animal testing, 200,000 dogs, 50,000 cats, 60,000 primates, 1.5 million hamsters, and uncounted millions of rats and mice are experimented upon and die each year, as living fodder for the great human scientific machine. Some would say that animal research is an integral part of progress; unfortunately, this is often true. On the whole, animal testing is a necessary evil that should be reduced and eliminated whenever possible.

    Read More

  • animal experimentation

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    League, Animal Defense. “Policy Statement on Animal Research.” Civil Rights in America. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey.Student Resources in Context. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Medical Research with Animals Saves Lives

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    What would the world be like if there was no vaccine for polio? If there was no discovery of insulin? Thanks to animal research we don’t have to live without vaccines or insulin. Animal research is a topic debated everyday around the world. Some argue it is cruel to put animals through experiments that animals have no voice in what is being done to them. Others argue that animal testing is good because it collects a lot of information and helps with surgical techniques. I believe that without animal testing we would never know what we know now. Animal testing for medical research is necessary if there are no other alternatives because it allows for advances in medicine, provides treatments for people with diseases, it eliminates human suffering, and it also has helped treat diseases in animals. (Animal Research 2013)

    Read More

  • What the Government Should do About Animal Testing

    1753 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hills, Alison. "Do animals have right?" In Chapter 13: Science and Suffering, by Alison Hills, 199-218. Cambridge: Icon, 2005.

    Read More

  • The Cons of Animal Testing

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Millions of animals are used to test consumer products, but they also become victims to experiments for medical research. In The Ethics of Animal Research (2007) both authors state that there have been many medical advances with the development of medicines and treatments as a result of research conducted on animals (para 1). These medical i...

    Read More

  • Ethics and Morality in Vegetarianism

    1942 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Case for Animal Rights. Routledge, London-New York, 1988. Regan T. The Struggle for Animal Rights. International Society for Animal Rights.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: We Must Eliminate Animal Testing

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a wealth of evidence showing that animal “models” are not accurate and cannot be relied upon for safety testing and disease research. Scientists and doctors recognize that while animals are biologically very similar to human beings, they are not identical.

    Read More

  • Animal Research and Testing, Is it Ethical?

    2169 Words  | 5 Pages

    Peter Singer, an author and philosophy professor, “argues that because animals have nervous systems and can suffer just as much as humans can, it is wrong for humans to use animals for research, food, or clothing” (Singer 17). Do animals have any rights? Is animal experimentation ethical? These are questions many struggle with day in and day out in the ongoing battle surrounding the controversial topic of animal research and testing, known as vivisection. Throughout centuries, medical research has been conducted on animals.

    Read More

  • Animal Testing Should Be Banned

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...inues helping to develop new treatments or knowledge that may guide to the cure of ilnesses. But has certain imitations that have to be clarified, animal research helps scientists to see the expected must not real stages of an illness or drug. By saying expected it is sure to assume that the result obatained from an animal may not be exactly the same that will be obtained from humans due to the many factors that influence this outcome such as genetic, controll of food and liquids, temperature, among others. Technology is now an option to replace some methods used to obtain data from animals, but it is important to highlight that technology may only reduce must not replace the use of animal testing. Animal research is significantly important for the medical field and should be used to benefit us, but alternatives should be used as much as possible if they are available

    Read More

  • Animal Welfare

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    Research and testing have become more prominent and a strong concern to the public on the treatment of animals. Many activists today are trying to change the view people see toward the animal they have as a companion. Ethical issues are the many concerns about animals and the question always asked is,”who has the right to control the animal?”. For animal welfare and the causes of animal abuse, new research has been created. Since animal abuse is fairly a new subject, new research is constantly being brought up.

    Read More

More about Animals in Biomedical Research

Open Document