Simon Festing And Wilkinson's The Ethics Of Animal Experimentation

Simon Festing and Robin Wilkinson, in their article, The Ethics of Animal Research, published in June 2007, address the topic of animal experimentation and testing and argue that it has greatly benefitted medical research and that discontinuing its use would have serious consequences in public health. Festing and Wilkinson support their claim first by establishing their credibility with the use of many reputable sources, second by utilizing data and statistics, and lastly by taking into consideration the perspectives of the opposing side. The overall purpose of the authors is to clarify the current issues with animal research in order to prove that testing animals is still the best solution. The authors employ a scientific tone in order to present an argument that appeals to individuals that have diverse views …show more content…
This can be seen in the first paragraph when the authors quickly address the opposing viewpoints, “Opponents to any kind of animal research believe that animal experimentation is cruel and unnecessary, regardless of its purpose or benefit.” This demonstrates one the key aspects of the Rogerian model in which the essay is less one-sided. In addition, the writers show validate and show their understanding of this perspective by writing, “No responsible scientist wants to use animals or cause them unnecessary suffering if it can be avoided, and therefore scientists accept controls on the use of animals in research” and also mention the numerous laws and regulations which serve as an ethical framework with animal testing. The majority of the essay expresses the need of animal testing in regards to public health, while also keeping anti-testing feelings in mind. A regulatory regime is suggested as a common ground in the conclusion, another significant aspect of the Rogerian