Animal testing is immoral (Emily Martin and Maria Perry)

Affirmative Case (Pro side)

Constructive Speech

1) Introduction (30 seconds): Hi my name is and I am making an argument that

using animals for research is immoral. Although being living creatures with the capacity
for pain and fear, animals are used in dangerous scientific experiments. This raises
major moral questions about how we treat those who are unable to defend themselves.
We need to work to put an end to this outdated practice since it is time to recognize that
animal experimentation is not only unnecessary but also cruel.

2) Resolution Analysis (20 seconds):

● Definitions

Animal testing is a laboratory experiment using animals to study the development

and progression of diseases.

Immoral means that it is not conforming to accepted standards of morality

● Judging Criteria

value Criterion – We believe the side that wins this debate the side that best
“minimizes harm” to animals

3) Aff Issue 1: ___Animals can die when tested on_______

(Argument ~ 1 minute) Animals are often killed during animal testing in order
to better understand the effects of treatments on living things. Many animals, such as
mice, rats, rabbits, and primates, undergo invasive or painful treatments, such as
exposure to harmful chemicals or surgery, which can result in chronic pain or even
death. According to the National Library of Medicine, saome research animals are
subjected to toxic substances and painful procedures until they are disabled or die, as
when determining the lethal dose of radiation used in cancer therapy. Some are killed to
obtain an essential organ, such as the liver, to be used in further studies. Euthanasia
may be necessary at the conclusion of studies in order to stop more suffering or to
gather tissue samples for examination. Researchers must provide an explanation for
using animals and make sure that their deaths are as humane as possible because this
loss of animal life is not taken lightly. Also, the Humane Society says animals are
typically killed once an experiment is over so that their tissues and organs can be
examined, although it is not unusual for animals to be used in multiple experiments over
many years. There are no accurate statistics available on how many animals are killed
in laboratories every year. The ethical burden of these sacrifices is still an important
concern, resulting in ongoing debates over whether the benefits of saving animal lives
actually exceed the losses, even though they are seen to be essential for improving
medicine and preventing harm to humans.

4) Aff Issue 2: __Animals are tortured____________

(Argument ~ 1 minute) Test animals often go through terrible torment and

endure procedures that give them great pain, anxiety, and misery. Many are exposed to
electric shocks, hazardous injections, or force-fed chemicals with the goal to test the
safety of products or investigating the effects of diseases. Peta explains in depth how
experimenters force-feed chemicals to animals, conduct repeated surgeries on them,
implant wires in their brains, crush their spines, and much more. Others suffer physically
and psychologically as a result of procedures performed without proper pain
management, purposeful injuries to body parts, or long periods in small, lonely cages.
For instance, applying irritants to an animal's eyes or skin during cosmetic or medical
research may result in illness or blindness. This is confirmed according to Green
Mountain Animal Defenses Animals and they say that animals are in fact tortured in
laboratories. Thousands of captive dogs, cats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and primates
suffer as chemicals are fed, injected, applied, or otherwise forced into their bodies to
test the safety of makeup, detergents, cleaning agents, and medicines. Animals are also
burned, bludgeoned, and cut open for human practice and observation. Many animals
suffer needlessly in spite of ethical standards, and some tests have no bearing on
human health. This continual torment emphasizes how quickly these inhumane
methods must be replaced with compassionate ones that put animal welfare and
scientific progress first.

5) Conclusion (10 seconds): In conclusion, causing needless suffering on animals with

minds and failing to ensure that results are applicable to humans makes animal testing
essentially immoral. In addition, with appropriate substitutes like computer models and
in vitro testing, we can advance science without endangering the well-being of animals.

Rebuttal Speech

1) Answers to Neg Issue 1: ___Animal testing isn’t always accurate___ (Rebuttal ~ 45

sec - 1 min) Animal testing is unethical because humans and animals have different
physiologies. Research shows that animal testing is not always reliable and can
produce false results. “Cruelty Free International” explains how 92% of drugs fail in
human clinical trials despite appearing safe and effective in animal tests, often on safety
grounds or because they do not work. For instance, medications that are considered
safe for animals have been shown to have serious adverse effects on people,
emphasizing the moral dilemma of endangering animal life when there is no guarantee
that doing so will improve human health. The “National Library of Medicine” shows how
stroke research presents one salient example of the difficulties in modeling human
diseases in animals. Stroke is relatively well understood in its underlying pathology. Yet
accurately modeling the disease in animals has proven to be an exercise in futility. To
address the inability to replicate human stroke in animals, many assert the need to use
more standardized animal study design protocols. This includes the use of animals who
represent both genders and wide age ranges, who have comorbidities and preexisting
conditions that occur naturally in humans, and who are consequently given medications
that are indicated for human patients.
2) Answers to Neg Issue 2: ____wanting to protect animals does not mean anti
science __________

(Rebuttal ~ 45 sec - 1 min) While it is possible that some testing centers do try to take
care of the animals, that is not the case for all of them. There are instances where
animals burned, shocked, poisoned, isolated, starved, drowned, addicted to drugs and
brain damaged. Protecting animals and pursuing scientific research can lead to better
outcomes for both. By ensuring humane treatment, researchers can foster a more
sustainable and ethically responsible approach to science, which can improve the
quality and reliability of research results. Many people support scientific research but
also have strong ethical concerns regarding animal testing. Addressing these concerns
can enhance public trust and support for scientific endeavors, ensuring that research is
conducted in a way that aligns with societal values.

3Negative Case (Con side)

Constructive Speech

1) Introduction (20 seconds): Hi my name is and I am making the case that using
animals for research is morally required. Animal testing has been essential to many
medical advancements that have saved human lives, even though we appreciate the
issues of animal care. Animals are useful for understanding illnesses and creating cures
since their biological processes are similar to those of people. There are also many
ethical guidelines for protecting animals undergoing testing. Animal testing continues to
be the gold standard for ensuring the safety of new medications, and alternatives are
not always reliable. Animal testing is therefore not only acceptable but also necessary
in the best interests of human health and safety.

2) Neg Issue 1: _______Animal testing is essential to medical

advancements_______
 (Argument ~ 1 min, 15 sec) Since it would be immoral and harmful to test
medications directly on humans, animal experimentation is morally required. Compared
to animals, which allow us to observe how treatment impacts a whole living creature, in
vitro or computer-based approaches are insufficient since they can only offer a limited
amount of information. “American Physiological Society” spoke on how animals have
short life-cycles so they can easily be studied throughout their whole life-span or across
several generations. In addition, scientists can control the environment around the
animal including their diet, temperature, lighting, etc. Before putting people in danger, it
is essential to comprehend how a medicine affects a functioning system, such as the
liver, brain, or heart. “Animal Research at Stanford” explains how Animals are
biologically various, similar to humans. In fact, I share more than 98% DNA with us.
Because they provide the safest link between laboratory research and human trials,
animals are vital.

3) Neg Issue 2: _______There are ethical guidelines in place for animal

testing_______

(Argument ~ 1 min, 15 sec) In order to reduce harm and guarantee humane

treatment during the research process, ethical guidelines for animal testing were
created. Institutions must conform to the 3 ethical guidelines made by “The National
Committee for Research Ethics, and Science and Technology”, which are having
respect for animals dignity, having the responsibility for considering options, the
principle of proportionality, which is the responsibility for considering and balance
suffering and benefit, responsibility for considering reducing the number of animals,
responsibility for minimizing, the risk of suffering and improving animal welfare,
responsibility for maintaining biological diversity, responsibility when intervening in a
habitat, responsibility for sharing data and material, requirements of expertise, and
requirements of due care. Researchers must give animals the right housing and care,
provide anesthetic or painkillers when necessary, and conclude experiments humanely
if animals suffer excessively. This is one of the principles of the 4 R’s given by the
“National Library of Medicine” where researchers are reducing pain, distress and
suffering in a manner that leads to a general improvement in animal welfare. This might
include for example improved living conditions for research animals, proper training of
people handling animals, application of anesthesia and analgesia when required and
the need for euthanasia of the animals at the end of the experiment to curtail their
suffering. These protections aim to find a balance between the need for scientific
advancement and the duty to treat animals with respect and kindness.

4) Conclusion (10 seconds): In conclusion, testing on animals is morally required since

it has produced life-saving medical breakthroughs and provides invaluable insights into
human health that are not always possible with other methods. Strict ethical standards
also guarantee that animals suffer as little as possible, allowing us to find a balance
between advancements in science and compassionate care.

Rebuttal Speech

1) Answers to Aff Issue 1: _We cannot test on humans_____________

(Rebuttal ~ 45 sec - 1 min) Testing on humans would be very wrong. When it comes
to testing on humans in the past the line has been crossed on what is ethical and what
is not. For instance if a person says they want to stop the experiment but the tester
continues so they can get the results or other instances along these lines where the
person is no longer consenting. We also don’t know the long term effects experiments
have on humans. We all range from different health problems and although something
might not affect you it can affect someone else. We also question whether the
experiment is necessary or not. There have been studies done that were not necessary
and at what point are we still doing things morally. This also raises a lot of other
questions such as do we allow these experiments on children. What is the overall
demographic and why is it acceptable to do these experiments on them but not another
group. It is overall more complex to morally and ethically do these experiments on a
human than an animal.
2) Answers to Aff Issue 2: ___Alternative Methods Are Not Always
Available__________

(Rebuttal ~ 45 sec - 1 min) While there is ongoing development of alternatives, such

as organ-on-a-chip technologies, these methods are not yet universally applicable or
validated for all types of research. Until alternatives are proven effective across the
board, animal testing remains a vital tool. Many life-saving treatments have been
developed through animal research, demonstrating its necessity in the history of
medicine. Dismissing this approach could hinder future innovations that rely on
understanding biological processes through live subjects. There are many diseases,
such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and metabolic diseases, that involve
multi-faceted interactions within the body that cannot be captured through alternative
methods. Animal testing provides a more holistic view of how diseases progress and
how potential treatments may work. There are also cases where we need to study tests
over a long period of time and a short term test will not suffice for the research needed.

Works Cited (minimum 6 sources total):

8/7/2019, Published: “Ethical Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research.”
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Animal Research at Stanford. “Why Animal Research?” Animal Research at Stanford,

med.stanford.edu/animalresearch/why-animal-research.html#:~:text=There%20are%20s
everal%20reasons%20why,is%20critical%20for%20biomedical%20research
%3A&text=Animals %20are%20biologically%20very%20similar,than%2098%25%20DNA
%20with%20us!&text=Ani mals%20are%20susceptible%20to%20many,diabetes%2C
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“Animal Testing and Experiments FAQ.” The Humane Society of the United States,
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2024.

“Animals in Experimentation.” GMAD, www.greenmountainanimaldefenders.org/animals-

in-experimentation. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

“Cruelty to Animals in Laboratories.” PETA, 30 Sept. 2024, www.peta.org/issues/animals-

used-for-experimentation/animals-laboratories/.
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Responsible Medicine, www.pcrm.org/ethical-science/human-experimentation-an-
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Kiani, Aysha Karim, et al. “Ethical Considerations Regarding Animal Experimentation.”

Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 17 Oct.
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National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Use of
Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. “Patterns of Animal Use.”
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of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1988, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218261/#:~:text=Some
%20research%20animals%20ar e%20subjected,be%20used%20in%20further
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“Why Do Scientists Use Animals in Research.” Default, www.physiology.org/career/policy-

advocacy/animal-research/Why-do-scientists-use-animals-in-research?SSO=Y. Accessed
30 Oct. 2024.