Essay: Some people claim that it is acceptable to use animals in medical research (discuss) | Solved Essays for IELTS PDF Download

Some people claim that it is acceptable to use animals in medical research for the benefit of human beings, while others argue that it is wrong. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

People have different views on how medical research should be conducted and tested. Although many people support the use of animal experimentations for developing medicines, I personally believe that animal testing is morally wrong.
The main reason why some people value animal experimentations to conduct medical research is because animal testing has contributed to many life-saving cures and treatments. It is true that nearly every medical breakthrough in the last 100 years has resulted directly from research using animals. For example, experiments in which dogs had their pancreases removed led directly to the discovery of insulin, critical to saving the lives of diabetics. Furthermore, it is impossible to release new drugs to the market before proving it has no harm to humans and laboratory mice are appropriate research subjects because they are similar to human beings in many ways.
However, I support with people who consider medical development that involved the use of animals is cruel and unacceptable. I believe that the lives of all creatures should be respected and we, humans, have no right to suffer animals for our own benefits. Governments should invest in developing alternative methods that can replace using animal experimentations when doing medical research. For example, a software program can be developed to model a human immune system and new drugs can be tested on the software rather than animals. In this way, no animals will suffer from the medical tests and the society can still benefit from medical development.
In conclusion, although it is undoubtedly true that animal testing has helped scientists in drug developments and medical discoveries, I believe that the benefits to humans do not justify the suffering caused to animals and we should use alternative methods when doing medical research that do not involve animals suffering.