Medicine, Animal Experimentation, and the Moral Problem of Unfortunate Humans

Summary

INTRODUCTION: THE USE OF ANIMALS FOR HUMAN BENEFIT IN MEDICINE

We live in an age of great scientific and technological innovation, and what seemed out of the question or at least very doubtful only a few years ago, today lies almost within our grasp. In no area is this more true than that of human health care, where lifesaving and life-enhancing technologies have given, or have the enormous potential in the not so distant future to give, relief from some of the most terrible human illnesses. On two fronts in particular, xenograft or cross-species transplantation and genetic engineering of animals on behalf of gene therapy in humans, such relief appears very promising, if not actually on the horizon. Certainly, extensive research work on both fronts is underway both in the United States and abroad.

These uses of animals for human benefit occur, however, in an intellectual and ethical environment in which scientists and technicians engaged in animal research are increasingly on notice, both from within and without their ranks, that the very trade-off upon which their work depends, namely, animal sacrifice for human gain, is once again under moral scrutiny. As moral beings, the rest of us, who accept the benefits that animal research confers, have an interest in what this moral scrutiny uncovers. This is especially true of those, such as myself, who support (much of) animal research and wish to see its benefits for humans continue.