The Ethics of Animal Research

 

    Animal research has played a vital role in biomedical and pharmaceutical advancements as well as continuing to aid in our understanding of a multitude of different diseases. While the idea of animal research and the ethics behind it is often a topic of debate in the scientific community, the value and greater knowledge it is able to give us is second to none. As someone who has done a fair amount of animal research for an undergraduate student, I believe that animal research brings a wealth of information that would not otherwise be available if it were not for the research we can do on these animals. As diseases begin to evolve and increase in complexity, the only way to logically investigate these diseases is to perform tests and conduct research on these animals in order to help us as scientists greater understand these ever-changing diseases. Personally, my values stated above are backed by the ideas of utility and beneficence in the animal research that is performed. Comprehensively, the benefit that animal research brings to the table far outweighs other laboratory methods and procedures that are often timely and interminable.

    For decades, animal research has been used to make countless advancements in medical treatments from vaccines and medications to organ transplants and biosynthetic organs. As the idea of animal research begins to emerge more into daily news, the societal view towards it will almost always for the most part be negative. Within the last thirty years, the tide of ethics in animal research has completely changed from what it once was prior to the 90’s and has become extremely valuable and necessary to the continuation of medical research (Wiebers, Leaning, & White, 1994). Animal research has for the most part, strictly been just scientific and stayed in its lane for almost all of its history, but recent advancements in biotechnology could open up a new insight into a numerous amount of human illnesses and disease (Monamy, 2017). Gene editing happens to be one of the main new ideas used in animal research, as scientists are beginning to determine if turning these genes off in animals has a relation to gene expression in cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and illnesses as well.

    Currently, the biggest use of animals in research is happening in trying to find a cure to cancer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and is responsible for 1 in every 6 deaths (World Health Organization, 2018). Animal research could help drastically decrease that number and with the discovery of new tests and treatments happening regularly, it is hard to argue with the fact that animal research will ultimately lead in huge breakthroughs in cancer research. The continuation and advancement of animal research methods is what will likely allow scientists and doctors to treat a surplus of different illnesses, diseases, and conditions millions of people around the world are diagnosed with daily.

Works Cited

Cancer. (2018, September 12). Retrieved March 21, 2019, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer

Wiebers, D. O., Leaning, J., & White, R. D. (1994). Animal Protection and Medical Science. The Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy Animal Studies Repository, 1-5. Retrieved March 21, 2019, from https://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=acwp_arte

Monamy, V. (2017). Animal Experimentation: A Guide to the Issues (3rd ed.). Retrieved March 21, 2019, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qTUEDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=future of medical animal experimentation&ots=vjLv1ollfP&sig=EklgXBooEaTnLE5yS8a8FZ2c328#v=onepage&q=future of medical animal experimentation&f=false