Debate Over The Rights Of Animals example essay topic

The methods, discoveries, and conclusions of science, as well as their role in society, have generated endless debates throughout history. There was a time when one could be put to death for believing that the earth was round, or ridiculed for claiming that animal species evolve over time. Today people argue over whether it is ethical and responsible science to transplant organs, to allow a suffering person to die, or to genetically alter foods so that they possess special traits. One particular ferocious debate that emerged from the discoveries of modern day science is the debate over the rights of animals. They are used to test the safety and effectiveness of new drugs before those drugs are given to people to treat illnesses and disease.

Animals are used to ensure that the ingredients in the foods we eat are safe for consumer consumption. They are also used to test products like eye shadow, lipstick, shampoo, and contact lens solution, as well as chemicals ranging from lawn fertilizers to caffeine. There should be a balance in the use of animals for scientific advancements. Although we as a society should never accept needless or cruel inflictions of pain, the potential good to all of humanity that can come from using animals for scientific studies outweighs the harm and suffering it may create. The History: While the debate might seem modern, animal testing and the concept of animal rights have both been around for a very long time. However, over the years, the views of people and society have changed.

New ideas about what is and is not acceptable in animal testing have led to new laws and new scientific techniques. Animal testing as it is known today owes its existence to the scientific revolution of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. During this time, as the scientific point of view gained respect and Saunders 2 the technology resulting from it exploded into everyday life, researchers began looking to animals for answers to questions that they couldn't find anywhere else. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, animal experimentation became increasingly popular among scientists.

For the most part, no one considered animal testing to be immoral. However, one English Philosopher named Jeremy Bentham believed differently. As stated in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) website, "In 1789, Bentham, referring to animals, asked: The question is not can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?" Almost three quarters of a century later, in 1859, the naturalist Charles Darwin presented his theory of evolution in The Origin of Species.

Darwin's observations showed a distinct relationship between humans and animals, and his theory challenged the prevailing view that humans were the privileged creations of God. His theory also suggested that much could be learned about human behavior by observing animals. However, at the time, Darwin had little impact on prevailing attitudes toward animal testing, and researchers forged ahead, making fantastic new discoveries in biology and medicine (PETA). In 1876, the British Cruelty to Animals Act was passed, establishing regulations for animal research in Britain.

In the United States, however, attempts at passing similar laws were rejected by Congress, and in the twentieth century animal testing became a widely accepted part of scientific and medical life. For many individuals, animal testing proved its worth in the 1990's. The National Anti-Vivisection's (NAVY) website asserts that many experts claim almost every major medical advance of that century involved animal testing at some point in the research process: the use of dogs in discovering Saunders 3 insulin in the 1920's, the study of rabbits, rodents, and monkeys in the 1950's in order to find a vaccine for polio all included testing on animals ("Animal Rights"). While dramatic new medical discoveries continued through the 1950's, the decade also signaled the beginning of a new concern for animals. In 1951, the Animal Welfare Institute was founded. Three years later, the Humane Society of the United States was created.

Then, in 1959, William Russel and Rex Burch published the Principles of Humane Experimental Technique. In the Animal Testing: The Animal Rights Debate Chris Hayhurst states that the Principles of Humane Experimental Technique presented three goals that every researcher should strive for: replacement of animals in testing when other methods are possible; reduction of the number of animals required for an experiment; and refinement of experiments so that animals would suffer less. These three R's, as they were known, continue to play a major role in animal research as scientists search for suitable alternatives to animal testing (Hayhurst 17). In 1966 Congress passed the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), a federal law regulating animal use in the United States.

The Act, which was amended in 1970 and again in 1985, requires research facilities to minimize animal pain and distress, among other things. According to PETA's website, the act was a major victory for animal rights groups, but it wasn't until a decade later, with the publication in 1975 of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, that the modern day antivivisectionist movement (a movement against the experimentation of animals who are still alive) kicked into gear. This book and others called animal rights groups into action and started a debate that has yet to be resolved (PETA).