The ideal of whether it's ethical for animals to be used as lab rats for the greater good is a thought-provoking question, and that's because this is a complex topic, while it's understandable that science has been and is still a saving grace for humanity that has helped us break several bonds and attain new heights. We can't help but understand that animals themselves are living beings that feel pain and have families of their own, and when asked if using them as test subjects is ideal or not, I have a few things to say, and they're as slated below.
To start with, like I said, science has done loads of good for humanity, and I can't help but wonder how our lives would have been without scientific research and discovery that has helped bring about cures to diseases, grant opportunities to explore different places, both here on earth and other planets at large, and we all know that without something being used as a test subject for most of these researches, then fellow humans lives would be at stake, which if it were the case would also have raised another thought-provoking question.
Talking about using animals as lab rats, it's now common news that it's all that KS to animals being used as test subjects that we humans and scientists have been able to have breakthroughs in significant fields that aid our lives, that, for instance, in medicine, with animals being used as test subjects, we've been able to get cures for different illnesses, antibiotics, and even vaccines against some deadly sicknesses and diseases.
Also, using them helps humans to not be the victim of the side effects of some drugs and the likes. You can imagine humans being the first to use some drugs that were recently made; take, for instance, I remember reading somewhere that when scientists made methamphetamine (meth), it was for the purpose of treating nasal congestion and ADHD; unfortunately, now it has been a deadly trap that's banned in most countries because of how it's been abused as a recreational drug, which caused brain damage, addiction, and other health issues.
So animals are like a solution to quickly discovering the effect some drugs would have on humans, and such can quickly be rectified if not good enough before humans are allowed to use them, and since we don't really have an alternative that scientists can use as their test subject, that's why the use of animals became rampant and raised eyebrows.
Now, while all of the above might sound great and be a good reason why humans shouldn't be the ones to be used as this test subject, one thing we fail to realise is that these animals also have emotions and feel pain; there are drugs that are tested on them that react negatively and such can lead to them having severe pain, going into distress, or even leading to their death.
As we have the right to a good life, these animals also deserve that same right, and talking about if it's ethical or not, I'm sure if we were the ones on the other side of the needle, we definitely wouldn't be pleased, so I guess we should consider the lives of these animals too and the impacts of our research on their lives.
After all is said and done, I can't really pick a side in this conversation because, like I said, this is a complex subject that's thought-provoking, and since I can't imagine myself being used as a test subject, then I definitely won't wish the same for another, regardless of if it's human or another species.
So I felt it'll be great. If scientists can seek alternatives to be used as their test subjects, and with that being developed, both human and animal lives would be saved, I read about how a 3Rs principle(Replace, reduce and refine) was proposed to be a lasting solution to solve this issue, and I hope we'll arrive at a time when that's embraced for the good of everyone.
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