7/21/2019 For Animal Experiments- Vital for Science

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Some of the greatest breakthroughs in medical science were madeas a result of research using live animals. In this essay, I willexamine whether animal experimentation is still necessary formedical progress. I will then justify the case for treating animals todierent moral standards from humans.

People who oppose the use of animals in medical experiments arguethat there are alternative options available to scientists. hey referto the use of human tissue grown in laboratories or the use of computer programs which model the eects of chemicals on humanbiology. hey also cite the fact that penicillin is poisonous to guineapigs in order to suggest that animal research data are nottransferable to humans. heir argument is that animal research isnot necessary for modern medical progress.

 he suggestion that animal experimentation can be replaces byalternatives is highly selective. !irst of all, it downplays the truesigni"cance of past medical breakthroughs. #accines againstdiseases like $, diphtheria and cholera were developed followinganimal experiments. reatment for diabetes became possible afterthe discovery of insulin in dogs in the %&'(s. Secondly, it ignores thefact that major advances are still being made thanks to research onanimals. )edicines for breast and prostate cancers were developedin the %&&(s as a result of experiments on mice and rats. *nimalresearch has also helped scientists develop antiretroviral drugs for+I#, which enable suerers to live long and productive lives. hese

examples show that animal research is driving important progress inmedical science.

It is also important to realie that medical research does not useanimal experiments as a "rst option but only when there is noalternative and only when the potential bene"ts are genuinely life-changing. So, for example, the two main forms of research whichopponents mention computer modeling and in vitro use of humantissue are already widely used. If researchers want to undertakeresearch using animals, they have to justify their re/uest on thegrounds that0 a1 there is no alternative to using animals2 b1 the

science has the potential to bring important medical bene"ts2 and c1the research will use as few animals as possible and will keepsuering to an absolute minimum. 3overnment regulations nowensure that modern medical research only turns to animalexperimentation as a last resort and for life-changing research.

 he "nal point to look at is the moral argument. 4pponents arguethat causing suering to animals for the sake of medical progress isimmoral. 5et, in many other areas, society accepts that there is acommon-sense dierence between the moral rights of animals and

humans. !or example, in the 67 people consume '.8 billion animalsevery year as food. his is nearly %.((( times the number of animals

7/21/2019 For Animal Experiments- Vital for Science

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used in medical research. It is also estimated that two millionrodents, such as rats and mice, are killed each year in order toprevent the spread of disease. 3iven that society accepts moralityof killing animals for these purposes, it cannot be argued thatanimal experimentation is immoral when its purpose is to "nd cures

for the most devastating and debilitating diseases on the planet.

In conclusion, therefore, it is evident that animal research shouldcontinue to be available as an option to medical research. It is truethat scientists have developed many alternative research methodsthat are widely used and have signi"cantly reduced the number of animal experiments. +owever, it is e/ually clear that alternativemethods are not appropriate for all areas of research. *t the heart of the debate is a fundamental moral issue. If death and terriblesuering among millions of humans can be alleviated byexperiments, which cause suering to animals, is that morallyacceptable9 In the light of society:s wider moral view of animals, thecase for animal research can be "rmly supported.