Cyrius Louis C.
Santos
GAS 12 – St. Fara
Position Paper
Is a medical experiment on animals ethical?
In the United States, an estimated 26 million animals are used for scientific and
commercial experimentation each year. Animals are employed in the development of medicinal
therapies, determining the toxicity of pharmaceuticals, ensuring the safety of products
intended for human consumption, and other biomedical, commercial, and health-care
applications. Living animal research has been done since at least 500 BC. Animal testing
proponents argue that it has allowed for the discovery of countless life-saving therapies for
both humans and animals, that there is no other way for studying a full living creature, and that
rigorous restrictions prevent animal cruelty in laboratories.
Medical experiment on animals can be both ethical and unethical at the same time. It is
ethical because we cannot experiment on living human beings due to the consideration that a
human person is of higher intellect than that of an animal; it can also be ethical because for the
survival of human beings, we intake or eat animals. in a medical sense, experimentation of
medicine towards animals are somewhat on the same page as eating them.
On the other side, it is unethical because it has the potential to endanger the life of the
animals. Furthermore, we must keep in mind that animals, like people, have intellectual
abilities. Also, because both have a body and a soul, we may claim that an animal's life is just as
essential as a human's. This is a reference to Plato's philosophy, which states that all beings
with a body and soul are real, and that because they are real and/or existent, we cannot take
away their right to live.
In accordance of the philosophy of Bentham and Mill regarding utilitarianism, in terms
of their philosophy, they believe that with utilitarianism, an action that is done for the greater
good is considered to be ethical but we also have to consider the differences between both
philosopher's philosophy. Bentham believes that quantity matter more than quality, meaning to
say, an animals life, if used under medical experimentation, can be ethical if it's for the
improvement and development of the greater good, which is that of the human health
advancement that focuses on every human's life. But according to Mill, quality matters more
than quantity, meaning, although the human society is in need of a valid result, we cannot
deprive an animal from its life since the quality of life of an animal is the same to that of the
human: it's living, breathing, and thinking, as well as having emotions. so regardless of whether
it's a human or not, we should always consider its quality of life. Perhaps the greatest difficulty
with utilitarianism is that it fails to take into account considerations of justice. We can imagine
instances where a certain course of action would produce great benefits for society, but they
would be clearly unjust.
In connection to current situation of the world, the global pandemic of COVID-19
(coronavirus) drew attention to the controversy over animal testing as experts raced to create a
vaccine for the virus as soon as possible. Animals have long been used to test vaccines for
safety and efficacy. In March of 2020, it was announced that there was a shortage of genetically
modified mice needed to test coronavirus vaccinations.
The events described above, as well as others, demonstrate the dangers of using drugs
that have not been tested on animals first, and emphasize the necessity of animal
experimentation in avoiding or preventing human tragedy. The use of animals in biomedical
research has resulted in important advancements in illness treatment.
Issues such as ‘cruelty’ to animals and the humane treatment of animals are valid
concerns, and hence, the use of animals in experimentation is greatly regulated. This has led to
the 3Rs campaign, which advocates the search (1) for the replacement of animals with non-
living models; (2) reduction in the use of animals; and (3) refinement of animal use practices.
However, total elimination of animal testing will significantly set back the development of
essential medical devices, medicines, and treatment. By employing the 3Rs when continuing to
use animals for scientific research, the scientific community can affirm its moral conscience as
well as uphold its obligation to humanity to further the advancement of science for civilization
and humanity. (Rachel Hajar, M. D, 2011)
Medical experiment on animals can be both ethical and unethical. It is ethical since we
cannot experiment on living humans owing to the fact that humans have a greater level of
intelligence than animals. It is unethical since it has the potential to put the animals' lives in
jeopardy. Furthermore, we must remember that animals, like humans, have cognitive
capacities. We may also argue that an animal's life is equally as important as a human's because
they both have a body and a spirit. Everyone can relate to animal testing. Making the
completion of this paper, we just need to be balance and not one-sided person. In philosophy
of descartes that, "I think, therefore I am." in a sense that if animals have souls, animals think,
therefore they are considered real and concrete. On the other hand, animals don't have
rational thinking, therefore their souls are of much lesser value as compared to humans.
Everthing is good but in moderation.
