Abby Turner
Rogerian Essay
Animal Testing
Animal testing has become a topic of debate in recent years due to the increase of
public knowledge on the subject. Animal testing is the use of non-human experiments that seek
to control variables of certain substances that can affect the behavior or biological system of
the under study. This type of research is usually aimed to develop fundamental knowledge of
an organism and many times the use of animal testing is focused on answering questions of
practical importance such as finding a cure for a disease. Some examples of applying this
research includes testing for a disease treatment or defense research and toxicology, which
includes some cosmetic testing. The fact that this type of research can sometimes lead to great
scientific discoveries makes it such a controversial topic. Many people support the testing of
science on animals because of the outcomes that can result from it, but new ways to research
medicine that does not involve inhumane acts on animals could mean that this form of research
could no longer be an option.
The most prominent reason why people believe that animal testing should be used is
because of the large amount of life saving cures and treatments that have come from it. For an
example, there has been experiments in which dogs have had their pancreases removed which
has led to the discovery of insulin, something that is critical to saving the lives of diabetics
(Nobel Media). Animal research has also contributed to many major advances in understanding
and treating conditions such as breast cancer, brain injuries, childhood leukemia and many
other illnesses (AnimalResearch.info). Animal testing is something that many people are willing
to let be done because of the fact that it has saved many lives and because in many places
there are regulations and guidelines that protect some animals from mistreatment.
Animal testing has come across many great medical discoveries but what many people
are unaware of is the instances in which we were not so lucky in saving humans from the
treatments we found to work on animals. In the 1950s a sleeping pill called Thalidomide was
tested on animals prior to its release. This pill caused around 10,000 babies to be born with
severe deformities that was not a side effect in the animal test subjects (Science Museum).
Also, animal tests on the drug Vioxx showed that it had a protective effect on the hearts of
mice, but the drug went on to cause more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths
before it was pulled from the market (Physicians Committee). With this being said I feel as even
