Medical Testing On Animals

Medical Testing On Animals

Medical testing on animals is a very controversial topic that touches almost every individual's life whether they realize it or not. 16 million diabetic people enjoy life they would otherwise not have if it weren't for the dogs, rabbits, and, fish that endured tests to help scientists discover treatments and produce insulin.

Cardiovascular disease is high on the list of American killers. The procedures used to treat this affliction such as surgical techniques and theraputic drugs required the use of animal testing. These are just two examples. Any major medical advance throughout history most likely involved animal tests as a necessity. There are many pros and cons to using animals for medical research, and many people have very different opinions about the treatment of animals. Some have the interests of animals in their hearts and disagree with any pain and suffering inflicted on them no matter what is at stake. Others argue that we have to respect the animals but have to think of human's well being first. There are those who don't care about the consequences caused by animal testing. It is a major ethical issue everyone should form an opinion about.

My first negative experience with animals in the lab was in a college human physiology course. We learned about the differences between the decentralized amphibian nervous system and the centralized mammalian system by sacrificing your basic frog. The procedure included decapitating the frog with a pair of scissors. No, there was no anestitia involved. The frogs went from alive to headless in one snap of the decapatron 2000. As if this were a joke, we were to demonstrate the frog's loss of equilibrium and inability to swim because...

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...reatments. The results from this study were obtained entirely with the use of lung tissue cultures from human cell washes. These are just a few examples of the wide variety of techniques use to experiment without animals. The progress of alternative methods grows every day.

Animal testing has brought some very important medical techniques and products within our grasps. However, there are many pros and cons, and the subject will continue to be a sensitive one. We as humans have a responsibility to respect and protect the animals as well as each other. Think of your family pet. Animals do have personalities and feelings. Think of your loved ones. Humans need medical care to survive. This is a hard issue to make decisions about. Human health is important, but we must strive to establish ways of improving human health without involving helpless animals.