alter nature. Noninterference in naturally evolving systems is a primary duty. Ethical priority is given to wholes over parts.
Defense of Animal Rights/Animal Liberation
The issue of the ethics surrounding the use of animals in medical and other biological experimentation for purposes of research is linked inextricably to the animal rights/animal liberation movement, which provides the strongest and most vocal opposition to the practice. Proponents of medical and other scientific experimentation involving the use of non human animals contend that prohibitions or restrictions on the use of such animals in medical and other experimentation will impede the development of new medicines, retard the refinement of surgical techniques and the training of surgeons, and increase the costs of medical care for human beings. Proponents of medical and other scientific experimentation further justify the use of animals in such activities on the ground that the use of human beings for such purposes is unthinkable. The former justification for the use of animals in medical and other scientific experiments is based on a utilitarian philosophy that in effect holds that the ends justify the means. The latter justification is a reflection of a specie centric outlook based on Judeo-Christian religious beliefs that facilitate the acceptance of the utilitarian justification for the use of animals in medical and other scientific experiments.
According to a leading American business publication, the animal rights movement in the United States is made up of people who "worship animals," and whose actions pose "a clear and present danger to the à health and welfare" of American society. This ludicrous statement and the conclusion would be laughable, if they were not accepted by an influential segment of American society. As it is, such statements and conclusions make it more difficult than it would be in any event to develop any sort of cons...