Free Essays on Animal Experimentation

Animal Experimentation has been used in the past in attempt to solve modern day health problems. There is now evidence to support the results from animal testing is not representative of what transpires in the human body. The key to solving today’s health problems lies not in using animal testing, but focusing on human clinical studies and through preventative measures. Studies have shown human cells have been more reliable in the creation of vaccines than animal cells. In Peggy Carlson’s article, Why we don’t need animal experimentation, she says â€Å"it was also unfortunate that the original polio vaccine was produce using monkey cells instead of available human cells as can be done today†. According to this evidence there was an alternative to using animal testing. In addition the animal cells used to produce the vaccine was actually hazardous. â€Å"The use of monkey cells resulted in virus with a potential to cause serious disease being transferred to humans when the polio vaccine was administered†, said Carlson. It is dangerous and wasteful to conclude that what occurs in animals will have the same results in humans. It is wasteful because of the time spent on animal testing too much time and energy has been devoted to animal experiments that have held back medical progress. Peggy Carlson quotes Dr. Bross, the former Director of Biostatics at the Roswell Institute for Cancer Research, â€Å"While conflicting animal results have often delayed and hampered advances in the war on cancer, they have never produced a single substantial advance either in the prevention or treatment of cancer†. Much of today’s health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and AIDS, can be drastically reduced with the knowledge of preventative measures. Animal testing is uneconomical when we already know the main causes of these diseases. The elimination of smoking and maintaining a proper diet can drastically reduce the occurrence of these... Free Essays on Animal Experimentation Free Essays on Animal Experimentation Animal Experimentation / Rights â€Å"They don’t feel pain the same as you or I†. The issue of whether animals have sense perception (are sentient) is important for those who use animals in research. As long as they continue to think and feel as though the animals do not feel pain the same as you or I, they can go to bed at night with a clear conscience. â€Å"It may be cruel, but it can help us understand the human condition,† runs the argument for animal testing. â€Å"Absolute rubbish†, (Fano) Vivisection, (the act of cutting into or dissecting a living body) has been practiced since the beginning of scientific medicine. In the second half of the nineteenth century, experimentation on living animals became a quintessential part of physiology as an institutionalized profession (LaFollette). According to estimation by the American Medical Association, biomedical researchers use between 17-22 million animals each year (LaFollette). A sufficiently large enough number of animals are used in biomedical research to warrant a scientific and more evaluation of the practice (LaFollette). Even when disagreeing about the moral appropriateness, parties on both sides of the debate assert the scientific validity of animal research (LaFollette). Some of the opponents of animal experimentation argue that some or all types of animal research are not scientifically valid. Many of those objections are inadequately developed and scientifically uninformed (LaFollette). There are, however, legitimate scientific questions about the validity of animal experimentation which merit serious consideration by both sides. After careful assessment of scientific and methodological principles, the indication is that the claims concerning the enormous benefits of animal research are exaggerated (LaFollette). There is reason to question the appropriateness of extrapolating the results of animal experimentation to humans (LaFollette). There are no anima... Free Essays on Animal Experimentation Animal Experimentation has been used in the past in attempt to solve modern day health problems. There is now evidence to support the results from animal testing is not representative of what transpires in the human body. The key to solving today’s health problems lies not in using animal testing, but focusing on human clinical studies and through preventative measures. Studies have shown human cells have been more reliable in the creation of vaccines than animal cells. In Peggy Carlson’s article, Why we don’t need animal experimentation, she says â€Å"it was also unfortunate that the original polio vaccine was produce using monkey cells instead of available human cells as can be done today†. According to this evidence there was an alternative to using animal testing. In addition the animal cells used to produce the vaccine was actually hazardous. â€Å"The use of monkey cells resulted in virus with a potential to cause serious disease being transferred to humans when the polio vaccine was administered†, said Carlson. It is dangerous and wasteful to conclude that what occurs in animals will have the same results in humans. It is wasteful because of the time spent on animal testing too much time and energy has been devoted to animal experiments that have held back medical progress. Peggy Carlson quotes Dr. Bross, the former Director of Biostatics at the Roswell Institute for Cancer Research, â€Å"While conflicting animal results have often delayed and hampered advances in the war on cancer, they have never produced a single substantial advance either in the prevention or treatment of cancer†. Much of today’s health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and AIDS, can be drastically reduced with the knowledge of preventative measures. Animal testing is uneconomical when we already know the main causes of these diseases. The elimination of smoking and maintaining a proper diet can drastically reduce the occurrence of these...