The times have most definitely changed in the field and the practice of medicine. Maybe fifty or so years ago when doctors did not really understand the human body as much, it was okay to experiment on patients when there was no cure available. My only justification for this is that when a loved one is ill you will pretty much let the doctor do anything to make them better. Sometimes the experiments worked but unfortunately they made the problem worse a lot of the time. This may not be the safest but best solution but that is how we evolved into modern medicine; with trial and error. It is better to experiment on humans who are terminally ill rather than test on animals that do not have the same bodies or reactions as humans. We get better results if we experiment on our own kind.
Nowadays I would say that this is not a good idea because there is always another way to cure someone rather than just to experiment randomly with no idea how the outcome will be. This would cause a lot of court cases and a lot of money on everyone's part. The only time this is okay is if you have the patients consent. If the patient agrees you can do whatever you want because they signed their life to it. If a patient is going to consent they cannot get mad if it does not go their way because they signed for a experimental treatment, not a definite cure. Bottom line, if we are talking about present day it is not okay to experiment on a patient unless they have consent from the patient. If we are talking about back in the day, I would say go for the experiment if you have nothing to lose.
I agree with what you said about animals. Experimenting on them is not the same as experimenting on humans. there could be a totally different outcome to the experiment and it could be completely unnecessary and not beneficial at all. And also, animals can not give consent. I think it is wrong to test on animals because they don't have a voice in the matter.
ReplyDeleteExperimentation is a slippery slope indeed. Aside from the cruelty of experimenting on animals who cannot advocate for themselves is the fact that animals and humans are not the same species. The experiments on animals might therefore be inaccurate when translated to human beings. However, the alternative is even worse: no experiements and no advancement of medical technology. It's a double-edged sword, a best-case scenario for two imperfect choices.
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