Introduction
Modern medical, pharmaceutical, and human products industries utilize animal testing in order to ensure that products are safe and beneficial to humans. At the same time, there have been numerous concerns about animal safety and animal cruelty. Doctor Nguyen believes that animal testing is imperative for saving human lives, and that human rights trump animal rights (Meadow et al., n.d). Doctor Wilson claims that much of the existing research on animals is non-essential (Meadow et al., n.d). Both agree that compromises are necessary and that the regulation and oversight on the practice must be improved.
Feelings on Scenario
I am firmly in Doctor Nguyen’s side when it comes to animal testing. His stance is that the majority of animal testing practices are non-dangerous, which is why they should not be of any concern. I think that compromising on this position is dangerous – shampoos and other everyday products may have long-term effects on population health and be the cause of chronic diseases, such as cancer (Williams et al., 2019). I think that if non-essential products are safe, then the animals they are tested on are also safe.
Ethical Theories
If we look at the problem from the perspective of utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics, the dilemma becomes less clear. Utilitarian ethics are based on the balance between goodness and suffering. At the same time, they prioritize human suffering over animal suffering (Pence, 2017). Based on the same principles, human health and lives have more value when it comes to testing. Kantian categoric imperatives offers two extremes – either requiring all products to be tested on animals everywhere, or none at all (Pence, 2018). Between two extremes, the former is more beneficial to the survival of humanity. Finally, virtue ethics do not implicitly support either side, but concede that virtuous stewardship of animals includes using them for tests responsibly (Pence, 2017). Therefore, all three ethical frameworks support Dr. Nguyen’s line of logic.
Conclusion
Animal testing is the inescapable reality of medicine and industry. Many products can be potentially dangerous to humans if not properly tested. I believe that animals should be protected from cruelty and neglect when it comes to keeping them. However, between human suffering and animal suffering, the former is more important.
References
Meadow et al. (n.d.). Animal Testing Scenario and Reflection. West Coast University. Web.
Pence, G. (2017). Medical ethics: Accounts of ground-breaking cases. (8th ed). McGraw Hill.
Williams, D. B., Endicott, T., Kaplan, M., & Douglas, M. (2019). Chronic blepharitis from a preservative in shampoo. Consultant, 59(5), 152-153.