Rebecca Pitchford
Argumentative Essay English 101 December 9, 2015 The Results Are In Cardiac bypass surgery, penicillin and acetaminophen are all the benefits animals have helped scientists make. Medical testing on a variety of animals is beneficial to the medical field because of the many breakthroughs in medicine, animals suffer from the same diseases as humans, and testing on animals gives scientists an efficient way to study reactions to medications. Animal testing started in 1628 and has played an important role in medicine ever since. David O. Weibers, director of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, mentions: “. . .it is universally considered impractical and unethical to expose healthy humans to disease protocols or to unproven techniques and interventions in order to study a disease process or to develop effective medical or surgical interventions…” (Weibers par. 3). Animal testing has had a role in some major discoveries such as penicillin. Researchers used rodents to test the efficiency of the medication. cite? The discovery of penicillin helped scientists develop one of the most beneficial medications doctors have that treats a wide range of illnesses. Researchers have also performed a cardiac bypass surgery on animals (Weibers par. 5). These tests have helped doctors learn different skills and techniques to perform complicated surgeries like a cardiac bypass surgery. However, people who are not in favor of animal testing argue that experimenting on animals is unethical; members of the American Anti- Vivisection Society (AAVS) says: “... but suffering is nonetheless inherent as animals are held in sterile, isolated cages, forced to suffer disease and injury, or euthanised at the end of the study”(Animal research is Unethical and Scientifically Unnecessary par. 6). Animal testing has an impact on the medical field for a variety of reasons. Animals generally suffer from the same diseases and sicknesses that humans suffer from; for example, dogs, cats, chimpanzees, even mice can get tumors just like humans. A trial was performed by Duke University to try to treat an aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme. This trial could not have been possible without animal testing. Trull mentions, “The brain-tumor treatment developed at Duke is a re-engineered polio virus. The new virus designed by researchers helps the body's immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. As in countless other revolutionary therapies, animal research played an invaluable role in creating this treatment” (Trull par. 3). This experiment was performed on a specific type of monkey that has similar brain functions to humans. The animal rights committee claimed that this was unethical and tried to condemn all animal testing towards the end of the experiment (Trull par. 2). Finally, animal testing gives scientists an idea of the side effects that the medications can have. Scientists test on animals because testing new medications on humans is impractical and unsafe; many animals are closely related to humans, so testing on them gives almost an exact look at how the medication or vaccination will affect the patient. David O. Weibers said, “...and animals have shorter lives, so intervention outcomes can be studied over the course of a lifespan” (Weibers par. 5). This quote explains that animal testing is important to the medical profession because these animals can show researchers how the medication works when it enters the body and throughout the whole lifespan (Weibers par. 3). In conclusion, animal testing has benefited the medical industry by allowing researchers to look closer at the study of medications and new products that have been made. Animal testing has allowed doctors to prescribe better medications to patients and surgeons have been able to pull off complicated operations such as the cardiac bypass surgery. Therefore, animal testing is an efficient way to work with new products and medications that come out because of the new inventions it has showed us, animals have the same medical problems we have, and it’s an efficient way to study side effects. Works Cited American Anti-Vivisection Society. "Animal Research Is Unethical and Scientifically Unnecessary." Animal Experimentation. Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Problems with Animal Research." 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. "Animals and Medical Science: A Vision of a New Era." Medicine, Health, and Bioethics: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 49-54. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. Trull, Frankie L. "Animal Testing and Its Gifts to Humans." Wall Street Journal. 24 Apr. 2015: A.11. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 09 Dec. 2015. |