Animal Research Scenario and Reflection
The necessity of animal research in medical studies is among the most controversial topics discussed by healthcare specialists and those specializing in medical ethics. Using animals in order to conduct experiments and study the effects of medicinal drugs is associated with numerous benefits for people in different countries as it allows increasing the effectiveness of new drugs. Despite that, the question of animal rights remains open.
It goes without saying that animals and people have a range of common features, and the majority of animals demonstrate an obvious reaction to physical pain. The case scenario devoted to animal research and animal rights helps students to better understand the arguments of those who vote for the restrictions of animal testing regulations and those seeing human rights as more important. The case presents the conversation between two speakers whose points of view are primarily opposite. The response to the case that seems to be the most ethical is B.
According to the response, Dr. Miller is right because he manages to find the middle ground between ignoring animal rights and banning all types of animal testing at the price of patients’ lives. This response is the most ethical because the speaker differentiates between unnecessary animal testing (testing shampoos, makeup products, etc.) and animal research that has already saved many human lives. The response states that animal suffering should be eliminated where possible, and this point of view traces its origin to the principle of reasonableness in ethics (Pence, 2017). Animal testing helped humanity numerous times (penicillin testing, insulin extraction). Nowadays, more tests are conducted to improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Coupled with the limitations related to computer simulation, these examples highlight that animal testing is sometimes reasonable.
References
Biller-Andorno, N., & Capron, A. M. (2016). Ethical issues in governing biobanks: Global perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.
Pence, G. E. (2017). Medical ethics: Accounts of ground-breaking cases (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Thomsen, S. K., & Gloy, A. L. (2017). Human genetics as a model for target validation: Finding new therapies for diabetes. Diabetologia, 60(6), 960–970.