• Ethics In Scientific Research
 
Overview

Prepare a 3 pages of testimony for a local public hearing on the use of animals in medical research. Your testimony will contrast emotional responses and reasoned ethical analysis. Explain the final position you will take on the issue when you speak at the hearing.

Bioethical issues in medicine, scientific research, or other areas are fraught with difficult trade-offs. Beliefs, emotions, and reasoning may pull us in different directions. Developing a sound approach to bioethical decision making requires a disciplined consideration of the evidence.

Context

Science is the pursuit of knowledge, but there is nothing in the scientific method that specifically references ethics. Scientific research without ethics can lead to extreme violations of human rights and human beings. Much of our science fiction concerns itself with such horrors. Research ethics, then, is as important as clinical ethics, since both involve human well-being and morality.

Questions to Consider

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.

Assessment Instructions

Your love of animals has led you to volunteer at a local animal shelter. One heartbreaking aspect of your work is that animals that are not adopted must be euthanized. Lately, you note that some animals do not remain in the shelter, but also that fewer animals are being euthanized. When you ask your supervisor about this development, you are told that the shelter has made an agreement with a large research firm to provide them with animals that were scheduled for euthanasia.

You look up the company and find that they have been the subject of protests by animal-rights groups and others because their research involves gruesome practices that clearly cause pain to the animals. The president of the research company has replied publicly that such research is necessary for developing treatments for human diseases and conditions. Your own research confirms that he is correct. Since the animal shelter is a civic facility, public hearings have been called to address the issue, and the city council asks you to speak. What will you say?

Directions

Write a speech for the public hearing. Your submission for this assessment will be a transcript of the speech you would give, but you do not need to record or actually give the speech.

Begin your testimony by explaining your understanding of the issue in ethical terms, including the following:

• Describe the issues involved in terms of ethical theories.

• Explain the ethical position of the research company, citing philosophers who support it.

• Explain the ethical position of the opponents of the agreement, citing philosophers who support it.

1. Critique the opposing viewpoints of the two sides, including the following:

• Explain the focus of each side's ethical theory.

• Define what each theory overlooks or diminishes in the issue.

• Enumerate strengths and weaknesses of each theory.

2. Take a position on the issue and argue for it.

• Demonstrate the weaknesses of the opposing theory and position.

• Demonstrate the strengths of your own theory and position.

3. Explain the reason for contradictions between your ethical and emotional perspectives in the conclusion to your testimony.

Additional Requirements

• Length: Submit a 3 pages, not including the title page and reference page, which you must also include in your assessment.

• References: Cite at least 2 current scholarly or professional resources.

• Format: Follow current APA style and formatting guidelines for your references.

• Font: Use Times New Roman, 12-point, double-spaced font.