Should Animals Be Used In Medical Research - Essay Example

?Introduction Animal use in medical and scientific research has always been a matter of controversy. It is considered that man’s belief that he is rational being and hence, the most superior species on the planet makes him to take disadvantage of the helplessness of the animals. The animal rights activists think that the feeling of superiority makes human beings to believe that there is no such thing as ‘animal rights’, because compared to them, animals are inferior and primal in every way. However, one thing that the ‘animals rights’ activists need to understand is that people in medical research field do not kill or use animals randomly. There is a valid reason behind it. The reason is safety, health and longevity of human beings. Even though human beings have developed into ‘civilized’ and ‘rational’ beings, they still have the primal urge for survival, which every living organism in the world has. The survival instinct is present in their genes. Hence, when human beings face a situation where their survival depends on killing or using other animals, then they have every right to do so because it is the ‘nature’ who has programmed their genes, bodies and minds to make every effort to ‘survive’ the threat, even if it requires killing or using other animals to do so. Need Of Animal Use In Medical Research Healthy body, mind and soul are foundation of healthy and happy life of human beings. With advent of machines and computers, the physical exertion of human beings have reduced to a great extend. People have become lethargic, physically inactive and dependent on machines to do most of their work. While the machines have ‘modernized’ the lifestyle of human beings, it has also given birth to various ‘lifestyle’ related diseases in human beings. To tackle this problem, the medical world has to come up with solutions in the form of drugs, injections, therapies and medical treatments. However, to come up with the ‘right’ solution, the researchers and scientists from medical field need to test the safety of the solution first (Prater, 2007, para.1). That is, before releasing the drugs in the market, they have to know if the drugs are safe to be used by humans and do not have any harmful effects on them (Prater, 2007, para.1). The only way to test the safety of drugs is to try it on ‘living’ beings and unfortunately, animals are the only option for experiments. Medical Progress Has Saved Millions Of Lives Man has depended on animals since ancient times either for food (poultry, chicken etc.), transportation (horses, donkeys etc.), agriculture (bullocks) or companionship (dogs, parrots, cats etc.) (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.2). So using animals to fulfill human needs is not a new thing. Even using animals in the field of medicine is not a recent practice as during 129-200 AD, physician Galen used animals “to demonstrate that arteries contained blood and not air” (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.2). If animals were not available for experiments in medical research, then we would not have created new drugs, treatments, made discoveries and gained knowledge about the diseases (Prater, 2007, para.1). Humans would have replaced the animals in laboratories for medical research and would have died unnecessarily (Prater, 2007, para.1). The number of the inventions and the discoveries that were made in the medical world with the help of animals shows how important the use of animals is in the medical research. Sadly, most of the discoveries and inventions were possible only because animals were used in the laboratories and researches. Improvement In Quality And Quantity Of Human Life The development of different methods to cure and prevent diseases in humans and animals, in last 100 years, has been possible because of animal experiments in medical research (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.1). In last four centuries, major advances in basic research and medical treatments have been achieved only because of the experiments on animals (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.3). It is the animal use in laboratories which has played a vital role in increasing the life expectancy of human beings from 40 years in 20th century to 70 years in 21st century (NIH, n.d., p.1). The medical achievements like discovery of vitamins, antibodies, tumor viruses, prostaglandins, blood circulation, function of lungs etc., were all made due to the animal experiments in laboratories (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.2). Also, solutions for life threatening diseases like insulin for diabetes, kidney transplant, polio vaccine, hip replacement surgery, life support system for premature babies, gene therapy for cystic fibrosis, heart transplant etc., were found only because animals were available for medical research (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.3). Moreover, animal research also helped in developing the drugs to treat diseases like asthma, leukemia, ulcers, high blood pressure, mental illnesses etc (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.3). This exhaustive list of medical discoveries and inventions made with the help of animal research shows how valuable is the contribution of animal research to human life. One can imagine how miserable life would have been for human beings if these treatments were not invented by people working in medical research field. Despite of these facts, animal lovers and animal rights activists think that scientists are bad citizens as they show irresponsible attitude towards animals (Giridharan, Kumar & Muthuswamy, 2000, p.6). However, it is not true. Animals Are Treated Humanly Animal use in medical research is not done for fun or for entertainment. There is a valid reason for it. There are federal laws, policies and regulations governing the treatment of animals in laboratories and research centers (NIH, n.d., p.2). Experts reviewing scientific proposals and research plans consider every aspect of research in detail and give the permission only when they are sure that it is relevant to human or animal health and the animals will undergo least distress in experiments (NIH, n.d., p.1). Moreover, during the research, animals are treated according to the instructions given by Animal Welfare Act, and a 24 hours emergency veterinary care is made available to them (NIH, n.d., p.2). Hence, animal use in medical research is not cruel. Their use in research is valid and human beings do have a right to use animals. However, according to animal lovers, there are many aspects of the animal use in medical research, which show that human beings are cruel, inhuman, immoral and unfair towards animals. The Rights Of Animals It is well known fact that animal use has led to the development of many treatments and drugs to cure and prevent the diseases in human beings. However, the question is, do human beings have a right to find solutions to their health problems by causing immense physical pain, misery, mental torture and isolation to animals? The answer is, no. Human beings do not have any right to cause distress to animals in an attempt to make progress in the field of medicine. Humans will be able to understand animal’s point of view only if they see themselves in place of animals. For example, the use of animals in medical research shows that man thinks that animals do not have any rights at all. After all, the ‘rights’ are not overridden even if it benefit someone else in some way (Reiss, 2006, para.7). Moreover, it is not a right thing to value the life of animals by comparing their mental, physical and emotional abilities with human beings. However, it is done to justify the animal use in research. Animals Are Sentient Beings The linguistic, intellectual and emotional abilities of human beings make them to think that they are fundamentally superior and different from other species on the planet (Reiss, 2006, para.10). However, this opinion is wrong as it is a scientifically proven fact that animals have emotions and they go through all the various feelings and sensations that human beings go through (Degrazia, 2003, p.255). Especially vertebrate animals, which are mostly used in the medical researches, have been found to be displaying the same kind of emotions as human beings do (Degrazia, 2003, p.255). Animals do sense pain and fear for suffering, as humans do (Degrazia, 2003, p.255).They are found ‘expressing’ opposition and dislike for treatments that causes pain, distress, discomfort, suffering and fear (Degrazia, 2003, p.255). The opinion of people using animals in research, that animals do not have the ‘sense’ of suffering (Degrazia, 2003, p.255) or cannot perceive distress is wrong. Hence, causing distress to other beings for the benefit of self is a selfish and immoral act (Degrazia, 2003, p.255). Also, the fact that the animals are given anesthesia or analgesics during some experiments shows that the researchers are aware of animal’s pain and suffering but refuse to accept it to justify their selfish behavior (Degrazia, 2003, p.255). This also proves that animals do suffer immense pain and distress during experiments but are ‘incapable’ of expressing it verbally. This multiplies the immorality and cruelty of the act as animals are not ‘asked’ for their permission before making them the part of the experiment. Lack Of Consent One of the most important ethics of scientific research involving experiments on human beings is that the individuals should be informed about the subject of the research and used in the experiments only if they are willing to participate. This is because every human being has a right to decide whether he wants to be a part of experiment or not and hence, his right is valued and respected. However, in case of animal use in scientific and medical research, no such ethics are applied. It is quite obvious from the nature of animal use in medical research that they are used in the experiments without their consent or permission (Degrazia, 2003, p.258). Also, the fact that animals go through pain, suffering and distress not for their own benefit but for the benefit of human beings, make it more unfair on the part of animals (Degrazia, 2003, p.258). Moreover, the fact that “nonconsenting individuals are never used in human experiments” shows how strictly the ethical principle of not using individuals without their consent is followed in case of human beings (Degrazia, 2003, p.258). This sort of treatment to animals show that animals are not respected as ‘living’ beings but are considered mere ‘tools’ and ‘objects’ in the hands of researchers (Degrazia, 2003, p.258). This means that they are considered as good as dead and not valued for what they are. Moreover, there are some experiments which are unnecessarily cruel and quite useless as far as the benefit or health promotion of human beings is concerned (Hile, 2003, p.55). For example, British pharmacologist J.W.Trevan designed a test in 1927called LD-50 “to discover the levels at which certain chemicals were lethal to animals” (Hile, 2003, p.55). ‘LD’ in the name ‘LD-50’ refers to the ‘lethal dose’ that kills more than 50 percent of rats, who are the subjects in the experiment (Hile, 2003, p.55). Sadly, the rats that do not die due to dosage are killed deliberately for further studies (Hile, 2003, p.55). One can see that even though these experiments are carried out in medical laboratories, they are of no use for the ‘health’ or ‘benefit’ of human beings. Hence, the animal use in researches cannot be justified in any way. Animals have a right to live a safe, healthy and secure life, as human beings do. They have every right to survive. Ironically, it is this very reason that makes the use of animals in medical research experiments justifiable. In the end, everything boils down to one thing and that is, survival instinct. The Survival Instinct ‘Fight or flight’ is a natural instinct which is a gift of nature to all the living organisms. When a person or an animal senses danger, then he either fights or tries to escape the situation. This instinct is as much present n human beings as it is in animal beings. The only difference is that human beings use it in ‘civilized’ and ‘human’ way. However, it does not mean that it has vanished from their genes. So when they sense fear or threat to their life in form of diseases and health problems, then they try to either cure (fight) it or prevent (flight) it in every possible way. Conclusion ‘Morality’, ‘rights’ and ‘ethics’ are part of philosophy and not of ‘survival instinct’. Millions of people would have either died or would have lived ill lives if the progress in the medical field was not made. Hence, even though use of animals in medical research is violation of animal rights, it is nothing but a different form of ‘fight or flight’ instinct used by human beings to survive the threat to their lives through diseases and health problems. Hence, human beings have every right to use animals in medical research as they are genetically programmed to ‘survive’ any threat and through any means, as they are the part of the natural system where ‘survival of the fittest’ is an accepted law of nature. References DeGrazia, D. (2003). The Ethics of Animal Research: What are the Prospects for Agreement? In S. Armstrong & R. Botzler (Eds.), The Animal Ethics Reader (pp. 252-261). New York, NY: Routledge. Giridharan, N.V., Kumar, V. & Muthuswamy, V. (2000). Use of Animals in Scientific Research. Retrieved from http://www.icmr.nic.in/bioethics/Animals_biomedical%20research.pdf Hile, K. (2003). Animal Rights. New York, NY: Chelsea House. National Institute of Health (NIH). (n.d.).Medical Research with Animals. Retrieved from http://science.education.nih.gov/animalresearchfs06.pdf Prater, A.M. (2007). Should animals be used for experimentation. Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/items/690355-should-animals-be-used-for-experimentation Reiss, M. (2006, December 12). The ethics of animal research. BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5365206.stm Read More