Animal Testing Research Paper

It is no secret that millions of animals a year are used for medical experimentation. One study “found the number of animals tested rose from 1,566,994 in 1997 to 2,705,772 in 2012” (Casey). It is my belief that researchers use virtue theory to defend their experimentations. While animal activists approach experimentation through the ethics of care. I am against animal experimentation, but I will also provide insight into why people believe it is ethically just.

The art of medicine and curing diseases was not always approached in a scientific way. In fact, many advances occurred between 1919 to 1939, after technological advances allowed scientists to apply the scientific method to medical research. At this time, the ethics of using patients as test subjects either for new medicines or as samples for further testing were not considered. An extreme example of this was the Nazi’s using concentration camp inmates – including children – to run painful and invasive experiments. More modern examples are not so easy to identify as unethical, however. While amputating a leg to develop methods to deal with fractures and war wounds is obviously unethical, harvesting cells to develop a vaccine is not so clear cut, as the disadvantage to the patient is hard to identify. Coming from the various Nazi testing and especially the Nuremberg testing and trials, another code of ethics was developed, called the Nuremberg Code.

Elements of the Nuremberg code of 1947 includes a 10-point statement of ethical principles created to prevent future abuse of human subjects. As during the time Japan and Nazi Germany subjected human beings to torturous experiments in order to obtain data that might prove useful in their war effort (Fischer, 2006). This document is the foundation for human rights when it comes to medical experimentation worldwide. The most important principle above all is to obtain an informed consent. An informed consent explains in depth all potential benefits and risks. The men who participated in the Tuskegee Study were not provided with an informed consent. A study had been done already on the Norwegian men, which made it clear

More than 90 percent of new drugs fail to make it into the public's hands. That 90 percent is also proven too toxic to even get past actual patient testing. Distinguished medical professionals find out if new medicines are toxic through various testings of which include human testing. Most of these test subjects include medical students as well as prisoners. Medical experiments have been conducted in prisoners for years. Not all of these tests however were properly practiced. Attached to these experiments are either great rewards for the medical community or unlawful controversy. The World Medical Association in 1961 failed to propose that prisoners should not be used as the subject of experiments. This was mostly because the experiments performed were unlawful and

Human experimentation has a history of scandal that often shapes people’s views of the ethics of research. Often the earliest cited case is English physician Edward Jenner’s development of the smallpox vaccine in 1796,where he injected an eight-year-old boy child with pus taken from a cowpox infection and then deliberately exposed her to an infected carrier of smallpox. Although Jenner’s experiment was successful and it confirmed his theory, the method of

Somewhere, in the United States, an animal is in terror. It cowers fearfully as scientists hold it down, and a doctor grips a massive, sharp needle next to its neck, ready to inject the animal with a lethal dose of a new, experimental drug. The animal is one of 26 million other creatures facing the same, painful, fate annually (The Hasting Center). Animal testing is the downfall of humanity, a practice of humans testing chemicals, drugs, and cosmetics on animals. Animal testing is an atrocity that is an unnecessary and dangerous ordeal to the subjects being tested on. The fact that it is cruel, is highly inaccurate, and that there are many other ways to achieve the results being pursued all

are not able to give consent for this as would be required of a human. Other

The Nuremberg Doctors Trial of 1946 is the preeminent case recognizing the importance of medical ethics and human rights specifically about human research subjects. The defendants in the trials include Nazi leadership, physicians, and investigators prosecuted for conducting unethical and inhumane medical experiments on civilians and prisoners of war resulting in extreme pain, suffering, permanent injury and often death. The Nuremberg Code, borne of these trials, establishes ethical guidelines for human experimentation to ensure the rights of subjects in medical research. Herein, this writer will first identify and discuss ethical dilemmas presented in the Nuremberg case followed by three

One of the most significant events in research history involved human participants was the Nuremberg Code on December 9, 1946. American military opened criminal proceedings against several leading German physicians for their willing participation in crimes against humanity. German Physicians were charged for conducting medical experiments on thousands of concentration camp prisoners without their consent; in most of which the participants as a result either died or were permanently damaged physically. In conclusion of the trial, in 1948 the Nuremberg Code was established, making it known that participants should give consent.

Main ethical violations in clinical research that contribute to the abuse of subjects include paternalism, informed consent, lack of ethical supervision and the avoidance of legislation in relation to the ethics of health care and research. Human rights has been widely violated throughout history as seen in multiple events. As early as the 1930’s, researchers involved in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, withheld information and treatment from a large group of African American men with syphilis. Following this tragic event, Nazi concentration camps were established. German scientists conducted research with the involvement of the prisoners. Disfigurement, disabilities and death were often the results of the Nazi human experimentation. During the creation of the atomic bomb, the United States government sponsored the research of the involvement of subjects being exposed to radiation without their informed consent. In addition, James Watson and Francis Crick obtained their data of x-ray

For over 250 years, physicians have documented the progress of human experimentation. The practice of testing on humans has help develop a modern system of human testing known as clinical trials (Jenkins& Hubbard,1991). Previous work from the past has made huge improvements in medical future. The current work of clinical has given patients better medical treatments. While human experimentation has given much to modern research, it has sometimes failed to follow bioethics. The significance of human testing and history has lead to modern practice of Human drug trials.

“Animal experimentation is the term used to explain the use of animals in education, training and research” (“Animal Experimentation” ) in order to enhance medical and cosmetological experimentation for humans, and involves keeping animals locked up in a laboratory. The sole purpose of animal experimentation and the use of animals in research dates back to when humans started looking for ways to cure and prevent deadly diseases. Today, “the majority of animal experiments do not contribute to improving human health, and the value of the role that animal experimentation plays in most medical advances is questionable” (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. par. 1). In other words, animal experimentation is not justified in the world we

Investigative examination has delivered significant social advantages. It has additionally suggested some alarming moral conversation starters. Open consideration was attracted to these inquiries by reported misuse of human subjects in biomedical tests, particularly amid the Second World War. Amid the Nuremberg War Crime Trials, the Nuremberg code was drafted as an arrangement of norms for judging doctors and researchers who had directed biomedical analyses on death camp detainees. This code turned into the model of numerous later codes expected to guarantee that exploration including human subjects would be done in a moral way.

Everyday, thousands and thousands of animals are being hunted, caged and killed for the purpose of animal testing. This is a very controversial topic regarding the life of many innocent animals. There are some people who believe that using these animals for testing is wrong. On the other hand, there are just much people believe that there are many benefits for using animal for experimentation. I myself think that people are the most important animal on this planet. Therefore, using animal for testing to protect our livelihood is the top priority.

“Beauty without cruelty” is the outcry that can be heard from animal right activists around the world. The FDA does not require companies to perform tests on animals but if the cosmetic product contains chemicals that can be seen as toxins, testing becomes a necessity. There are currently thirteen safety tests that are performed on animals.