Ethics of biomedical research

Question 1

where are animals used?

Answer 1

Universities & med schools- 49.2% of total UK procedures

Commercial organisations- 25.3%

Charities- 13.2%

Government- NHS- Public bodies, public health labs- 12.3%

Question 2

Why are animals tested on?

Answer 2

Creation & breeding of genetically modified animals (mainly mice)- 48.6%

Basic research (how it works)

Regulatory testing

Research that translates animal to human- 8.6%

Protection of natural environment e.g. making animals less likely to damage their environment by genetically altering them

Preservation of animal species e.g. testing pesticides for effect on animals- <0.1%

Question 3

What species are commonly used?

Answer 3

Mice- 60% 
Fish-17%
Rats- 9%
Birds
Others
Specially protected species- its, dogs, horses, primates- 1%

Question 4

Moral question- moral value of animals vs value of research + moral values of humans & human wellbeing’s

Answer 4

Does potential benefit to humans justify causing harm & suffering to animals

Question 5

Is the use of animals in research still necessary?

Answer 5

No:

• Human costs of experimenting on animals is regarded as irrelevant- so why are studies being done in first place?
• Many animal studies are poorly designed
• 92% of drugs shown safe & effective on animals fail in human trails- animals have suffered & no benefit for humans has come out at end

Yes:

• Argue that potential benefit for human justifies harm of animals
• In-vitro or in-silico investigations cannot replicate the function of complex living systems
• Less morally acceptable to experiment on humans

Question 6

Why not test on humans?

Answer 6

Paying research subjects risks selecting for the most needy, most vulnerable groups- economic coercion

Many regard people as having more moral worth than animals

But should animals suffer in pain for human knowledge, however altruistic the aim is?

Question 7

Rule for testing on animals- animal welfare ethical review boards?

Answer 7

Principle of replacement, reduction & refinement

Ensure that, whenever possible, a scientifically satisfactory method or testing strategy, not entailing the use of live animals, shall be used instead of a procedure

Ensure that number of animals used in projects is reduced to a minimum w/out compromising the objectives of project.

Ensure refinement of breeding, accommodation & care & of methods used in produces, reducing any possible pain, suffering, distress, or lasting harm to animals.

Question 8

What does Jeremy Bentham argue?

Answer 8

argues that humans based on their ‘special characteristics’ are not as special as they seem & if we think main point of moral consideration is ability to feel pain, then animals are as worthy of moral consideration as humans

Question 9

Animal testing- some moral questions

Answer 9

Is no consent different from dissent in this case?
Deontology- never use someone as a means to an end
Is a non-human animal someone?

If it is wrong to kill an animal or to cause it to suffer to further human ends through research, what about food?
- We kill more animals for food than for research

If there are enough similarities for experiments on animals to be useful- why not for moral consideration & rights talk?

Question 10

Testing on humans- what was the Tuskegee syphilis experiment?

Answer 10

1932-1972; united states

399 African American men w/ untreated syphilis monitored for 40 years

Told only that they would be getting free medical care

Not told of their diagnosis- given placebos rather than treatment

Question 11

What is the HeLa cell line?

Answer 11

African-American women’s cancer cells grown in culture

An immortal human cell line- still replicating

Consent from her or her family never sought

Total mass of HeLa cells > 50 million tones

Still in use today

Raises questions:

• Would her material have been treated this way is she was white?
• Who owns your genetic material?
• Since HeLa cells have mutated, does this justify their continued use?
• Do the undoubted breakthrough that the cell line has generated retrospectively justify the way they were acquired?

Question 12

Nazi experiments?

Answer 12

Nazis claimed not to see some people as fully human

But that didn’t mean they didn’t their potential for medical research

Denial of humanity

Indifference to suffering

Some experimental results still in use- knowledge used as bases of some medical knowledge today

Question 13

Testing covid vaccine in Africa?

Answer 13

Economic coercion?

Nit all countries have strict code

Question 14

What is the Nuremberg code?

Answer 14

Ethical guideline of ensure that medics never again participate in atrocities

Forerunner of the four pillars approach

Enshrines (fire rule) voluntary consent of subject

Not officially adopted in any jurisdiction

Question 15

What are the 5 rules of ethical human research?

Answer 15

1. Obtain consent
2. Minimize risk of harm to participants
3. Protect anonymity & confidentiality
4. Be transparent to subjects
5. Respect participants right to w/draw.

None of these translates to non-human subjects

Question 16

Closing questions.

Answer 16

Is it morally permissible to use knowledge generated by Nazi atrocities?

If the consent of the subject is paramount in research ethics, can we justify using animals that cannot consent (or w/draw)

Should research be governed by supra-national regulations?
- How could these be enforced?

Is it morally coherent to oppose experiments on animals but to continue eating them?

Is it fair to experiment on groups, such as the poor, prisoners, whose freedom might be compromised?