Animal Experimentation And Biomedical Ethics Essay

Approximately 26 million animals are used every year in the United States alone for research and commercial testing (“Background of the Issue” 1). For years, legislators have debated the pros and cons of animal testing, and laws were passed to attempt to fix the inhumane treatment of the cute, innocent testing subjects, the animals. Although the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) was revised numerous times, “the species most commonly used in experiments (mice, rats, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians) comprise 99% of all animals in laboratories” and are the animals that are specifically exempted from protection under the act (“Experiments on Animals” 2). A simple fix to animal cruelty during testing is to use alternative methods since human and animal bodies already vary greatly. For years, animal testing was the best option because there was no alternative to testing on a living, whole-body system; however, in the age of technology, there is no reason for millions of animals to be killed due to the severity of the testing. Therefore, animal testing should be banned because alternative methods provide more accurate results since human bodies are very different than animal bodies; furthermore, animal advocacy organizations should promote cruelty-free products more so customers know what to purchase and use.

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

The subject of animal testing when it comes to religion is exceedingly debated. As long as there is no unnecessary pain inflicted onto the animals and there is a real possibility of benefit to human beings, then Jewish, Christian, and Muslim teaching allows for animal experimentation. On the other hand, many people believe that since religious traditions, such as Hindu or Buddashism, tell us to be merciful to animals, we should not cause them suffering by experimenting on them.

The issue of animal testing is a widespread and very controversial topic. It entails carrying out torturous and harmful tests and experiments on animals (most commonly mice or rats, but also other animals like rabbits and guinea pigs) for scientific research, whether it be for medical causes, products or cosmetics. In many cases, animal testing is unavoidable – it is impossible to rid the world of something humans rely on so dearly; however, it is imperative that we recognize the moral impacts of our actions and stop relying on it as a major research tactic. It is quite odd that it continues to be commonly used, despite being largely ineffective, the abundance of alternatives available, and the moral issues it brings into light.

Animal testing has become a controversial issue among many people in the world today. Some of these people involved in this controversial debate believe that animal testing is unethical and should be replaced by other methods. The other group of people in this debate believe that animal testing is necessary in order to research new products that cannot be tested on humans. Traditional animal testing forces animals to undergo numerous experiments for different forms of research. Medical, cosmetic, and many other types of research experiments use animals to provide the results on how the new product may affect humans. There are many people that support the use of alternative methods to animal research and then

Animals have been treated immorally since the beginning of time, this is shown by hunting, farming, trapping, testing of products and biomedical research etc. As humans, majority of us claim animals as our resources as we use them for eating, making clothing, (leather and fur jackets, shoes) working animals, as a means of transport, animal testing etc. In this essay I will discuss the use of animals in biomedical research and state why some believe it is morally justified. I will then present an objection to argue why biomedical research is morally unjustified and why I believe this. I will write this essay using resources from Tom Regan 's, “The case for animal rights”, David DeGrazia’s, “The ethics of animal research: what are the prospects for agreement?’, Baruch A. Brody’s, “Defending animal research: An international perspective” and Peter Singer’s, “Animal Liberation at 30”. I will then come to my own conclusion based on the different perspectives from the above philosophers and by using my own knowledge on the issue.

Numerous years ago, animal testing was started to help humans obtain information. The process of testing on animals is, quite possibly, one of the most disturbing experiments ever performed. Many cosmetics and personal care products are manufactured every year and put into the market

Disputes on the concept of animal testing are seen all around the world in today’s society. People who are arguing in spite of the animals’ favors are called animal rights activists. Through the animal rights activists’ points, they create many important reasons for the fact of why animals should not be tested on. Although many people may support animal testing for commercial or scientific aspects, it has serious negative effects on animals for minimal human benefits. There are several features of animal experimentation that people need to have awareness of such as, animal cruelty and alternatives for testing, experimentation in the cosmetics industry and its failures, and what one can do to make a difference to prove that it is morally wrong.

While at least 59% of U.S. households own a pet, one hundred million animals are utilized for laboratory experiments. Numerous people are clueless as to what process a company undergoes to provide their product on a self and into the hands of consumers. There are many opinions about the situation, but the majority lie within two groups: an abolitionist and reformist. While abolitionist view animal experimentation as ethically wrong, reformist aim to improve the conditions and treatment of the animals as they gradually attempt find other methods to carry out their experiments. Both groups validate their views, but along with the benefits there are downsides, causing the question as to whether animal experimentation is ethically right or wrong.

The idea of using animals in research has been a widely controversial subject for many years, is it inhumanity or science? Every being holds their own perspective towards animals. They may consider animals as machine-like creatures with no consciousness, while others view animals as spiritual creatures who have feelings and emotions just like human beings. For decades, animals have been used for further experimental research, as well as an advancement for cures and treatments of diseases. Many individuals have opposed the idea of using animals for experiments, claiming that it is morally unjust. Even though, humans have benefited through the use of animals in research, the pain, the suffering and the death of animals is an unbearable sight. Supporters of animal experimentation contend that it is necessary to assure the safety of cosmetics, pharmaceutical and other various products that will affect us, humans. On the other hand, opponents argue that the use of animals for one’s own benefits is not ethically or morally correct. This essay will follow the negative and positive aspects of animal testing, in an attempt to show both sides of the argument.

The issue of animal experimentation has been hotly debated in regards to many aspects of the problem, such as the rights of the animals and the beneficial results that come from animal experimentation. In the year of 1989, the United States Supreme Court ruled the first victory for pro-animal welfare in the Silver Spring Monkey case when seventeen monkeys had been held captive under inadequate living conditions, and were subject to experimentation that was deemed animal abuse (peta.org). For several decades, animal experimentation has been a controversial issue in the medical world and has made little progress to either side of the spectrum. Although animal testing has developed cures and treatments for several different illnesses that once wreaked havoc across nations worldwide, the animals involved in these tests to produce the medicines may not have been treated humanely. These concerns revolve around the animals environment in the lab, how often they are fed and given water, whether they are enduring any form of physical pain, and if the animal is suffering any serious psychological effects from experimentation (peta.org). Many scientist differ, however, by claiming that animal lives in the laboratory are much healthier and humane than they used to be in the past. These statements are backed by laws that have been made to create standard health

Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation is the use of non-human species in experiments that help to control variables that would affect the human body. Most animal testing is conducted within the cosmetic (make-up) industry (“Animals In Scientific Procedures). The moral and ethical principles are subject to debate and many aspects have shifted within the 21st century. Greeks were some of the first individuals that began testing on animals in order to protect human kind (“Animals In Scientific Procedures”). The argument has come to surface that cosmetic animal testing is morally wrong because many experts are harming the lives of these animals because they feel pain and are tortured in the process of these experiments. Many cosmetic brands still perform experiments to better their product, yet they are harming the lives of innocent animals in the process.

In the opinionated world we live in today, a very controversial topic is upon animal testing. Animal testing is also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing. It is the use of animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This study often gets confused with field studies in which animals are observed in their natural environments. Experimental research with animals is usually conducted in universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, defense establishments, and commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry. The aim of animal testing differs on a continuum from pure research, done with little regard to the uses to which understanding may be put, to applied research, which may focus on answering some question of great practical importance, such as finding a cure for a disease. Examples of applied research include testing, breeding, defense research, and toxicology, including cosmetics testing. For educational purposes, animal testing is sometimes a component of biology or psychology courses. The practice is regulated to varying degrees in different countries.

Using animals in research and to test the safety of products has been a topic of heated debate for decades. According to data collected by F. Barbara Orlans for her book, In the Name of Science: Issues in Responsible Animal Experimentation, sixty percent of all animals used in testing are used in biomedical research and product-safety testing (62). People have different feelings for animals; many look upon animals as companions while others view animals as a means for advancing medical techniques or furthering experimental research. However individuals perceive animals, the fact remains that animals are being exploited by research facilities and cosmetics

Animal testing, although a controversial topic, affects a great deal of scientists and the work force in the agriculture field. This topic has proven difficult to communicate to one another about because there are individuals that believe animals should have certain rights and others believe that animals have no rights. Our group wanted to research this topic because we want to gain knowledge and become more understanding toward the people on both sides of the spectrum. Digging more into the research we found that cosmetics, medical use, and food are the most widely used methods for experimentation. With these research fields, people are finding ways to appeal to the ethics of the modern-day consumer.