Introduction: Animal Testing

Behind medicines and cosmetics that people are using in everyday life, there are a great number of animals suffering from great pains and itchiness imposed by humans.

Fig.1. A rabbit applied cosmetic products in his/her eyes for the Draize test to examine eye irritancy. Photograph by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Today, approximately 100 million of animals are used for Animal Testing around the world (NAVS). The purpose of these testing involved animals can be classified into three main categories―to advance scientific research, to study disease and develop medicine and to confirm the safety of chemicals. Owing to these researches, people could discover effective preventives and treatments for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, polio and hepatitis C. The results of animal testing have also been prevented people from facing harmful effects of products (NCB).

     {I need something to change the main topic into animal testing for products!!!!!!}

It is true that Animal Testing confirm the safety of products people use, however, the experiment inflict great pain on animals. Even though the testing is needed for people not to be hurt by using products, is it humane not to take measures to diminish animals’ pain coased by the experiment and just sacrifice them? In order to improve treatment of animals involved in Animal Testing for products, Japanese government should obligate companies 1) to promote its treatment according to the principle of “3Rs” (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement)and 2)to improve the availability of information related to Animal Testing.

Outline

Outline: Animal Testing in products

Research Question

What is problem of Animal Testing that makes people opposed to it? What should be done to improve quality of treatment toward the animals?

 

Thesis Statement (I will change this greatly)

In order to improve treatment of animals involved in Animal Testing for products, Japanese government should obligate companies 1) to promote its treatment according to the principle of “3Rs” (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement)and 2)to improve the availability of information related to Animal Testing.

 

I. Introduction

     A. Attention getter (maybe I use a photo)

     B. Background

     C. Thesis statement

II. Regulation

     A. Japan

     B. Foreign country

III. Scientific Issues

A. Reliability of research

          1. Biological difference between human and animals

           Ex) Rabbit used in Draize testing/AIDS for chimps

　　 B.

IV. Ethical Issue

     A. The moral status of humans and animals

     B. Assessing pain, distress and suffering in animals

V. Recommendation

     A. Improving the availability of information

     B. Following the principle of “3Rs” (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement)

     C.

IV. Conclusion

Would I donate my child's organs?

Q.If you had a 5 year old child who had an accident and was officially diagnosed as brain dead, would you donate his or her own organs?

 

If I had a 5 years old child and he or she was diagnosed as brain dead, I would donate my child’s organ and my decision is based on two ideas. One of the ideas is what Shannon says “Consequentialism”, the idea which seeks the consequences that provide greatest good for greatest members. I did brief research on Wikipedia, and I found that most of brain dead patients do not live long and there are extremely few cases that recover from brain dead state, so that I think there would be almost no possibility that my child came to recover. Therefore, I think it would be better to donate my child’s organ to someone who has great possibility to have longer life and craves the organ to overcome one’s disease at the time. It would be so miserable to put an end to my child’s life, however, it grants future for others. Second idea is “Mind-body dualism” which was mentioned by Yonemoto. My outlook on life and death is relatively close to this idea. I think mind and body is separated, and body is just a container of spirits. Therefore, the body does not have to be complete. Based on these two idea―Consequentialism and Mind-body dualism, I would donate my brain-dead child’s organ.

(However after I donated my child's organs, I might be strongly annoyed by the fact that the patient who got organs from my child is still alive whereas my child has died... so complexed:(.... )

Essay Topic!

a) My Key word/topic is Animal Testing(Animal Experimentation)

b) I am interested in Animal Testing because I do not know anything about it though every single products such as medicine or cosmetics I use have undergone animal testing.

c) Possible Research question 
Why is Animal Testing needed? What is the problem that makes many people opposed to Animal Testing? What should be done to improve treatment toward the animals?(What is the ideal style of Animal Testing?)

d) Possible Sources + short comments about them

The ethics of research involving animals/Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Report. It might be really useful since its contents are very detailed and have ovarall information about Animal Testing. It refers to background,ethical issues from both pro and con side, and recommendation.

The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique/W.M.S. Russell and R.L.Burch
A chapter of this book shows the idea of "three Rs"which is a guiding principle for using animal in research. I might use this source to give one of the ideal styles of animal testing.

Alternatives to animal testing gaining ground Researchers, regulators develop new systems for experiments/August 26, 2010 By Meredith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun
News Article that has estimates of animals used for testing and information of current situation.

The use of animals in product testing/National Anti-Vivisection Society
Information of tests such as the Draize rabbit eye test and problems of them.

Saving the Animals: New Ways to Test Products/NY Times
An article about developing the alternative methods.

Japan to try prenatal detection test for Down syndrome

Friday, Aug. 30, 2012

 

Kyodo

Several Japanese hospitals next month will start using a new prenatal blood test that can detect Down syndrome with an accuracy of more than 99 percent, hospital officials said Wednesday.

The National Center for Child Health and Development, Showa University Hospital and other medical facilities will use the new method, developed in the United States, to detect three types of chromosomal abnormalities in fetuses, including Down syndrome, by analyzing the DNA of pregnant women 35 or older, who face a higher risk of bearing children with chromosomal irregularities.

The new prenatal test is less risky than existing amniotic fluid tests, in which a thin needle is inserted into the abdomen, presenting a 0.3 percent higher risk of miscarriage.

The safer test is expected to raise the overall testing rate and possibly lead to an increase in abortions.

The hospitals aim to conduct the blood test on about 1,000 women over two years as part of their research. They will examine whether the new method helps the women refrain from undergoing amniocentesis, which will be unnecessary for those who test negative.

The blood examination will not be covered by health insurance and will cost ¥210,000. Those who have reached the 10th week of pregnancy or beyond are eligible, allowing women to be tested in the early stages of pregnancy, unlike amniocentesis, which must be carried out between the 15th and 18th week of pregnancy.

The national center said it is planning to draw up guidelines for conducting the prenatal blood test, which will involve the presence of several experts, at least 30 minutes of counseling and continued monitoring.

Haruhiko Sago, chief of the facility's prenatal center, said it is "essential to provide women with enough counseling so they do not undergo the test without careful consideration."

Sago also said the new method is already being used in Europe and the U.S. and that it is just a matter of time until Japan adopts it as well.

Kunio Tamai, chief director of the Japan Down Syndrome Society, said his organization is strongly opposed to jumping on the bandwagon from a bioethics standpoint and called for obtaining informed consent from parents-to-be.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120831a2.html

 

What do I want to learn/get from ARW Winter?

     From ARW winter, I want to improve my writing skills to make my essay more persuasive. In autumn term, my essays were  not persuasive because I had some troubles with organizing the information and making the flow of essay. In this term, I will try to make more detailed plan before writing to make my mind more clear.
     The topics treated in winter term looks so interesting to me, so that I want to do a lot of works.