Do people who support animal rights refrain from using life-saving medicines developed through animal testing?
Some do. However, I personally do not consider this ethically necessary.
To explain, let us imagine that the Nazis discovered a cure for cancer while experimenting on prisoners during the Second World War. Suppose that, now that the Nazis have been defeated, we must decide what to do with the medicine. Should we use it or reject it? My answer is highly controversial, and many other animal-rights activists and vegetarians would strongly disagree.
My answer is to use it. I do not think it makes sense to refuse a cure simply because it was developed unethically. We can condemn the method the Nazis used to discover it and promise never to repeat their mistakes, while still using the medicine to save as many lives as possible.
This is also my attitude toward using life-saving medicines developed through animal testing.
Continue with these questions:
- Is it insulting to compare humans with animals?
- Are there laws regulating the use of animals in laboratories?
- How is animal testing different from other situations where people kill animals to survive?
- What if a cure for cancer could be produced through an experiment on just one animal?
- What if you were in a burning building and could save only your child or your dog?
- What are the alternatives to animal testing?