Ethical Issues in the Use of Animals in Research

"Ethical Issues in the Use of Animals in Research" is a special issue of Ethics and Behavior (7:2, 1997) edited by Kenneth D. Pimple, F. Barbara Orlans, and John P. Gluck. Many of the papers were presented at a meeting on "Ethical Issues in Animal Research" held at Indiana University in 1996 (see below). Ethics and Behavior is published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. To order a back issue or a subscription: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Journal Subscription Department, 10 Industrial Avenue, Mahwah NJ 07430-2262; (201) 236-9500; FAX: (201) 236-0072; orders@erlbaum.com.

Contents:

Kenneth D. Pimple, Indiana Universtiy, "Introduction"
Carl Cohen, University of Michigan, "Do Animals Have Rights?"
Tom Regan, North Carolina State University, "The Rights of Humans and Other Animals"
Tom L. Beauchamp, Georgetown University, "Opposing Views on Animal Experimentation: Do Animals Have Rights?"
R. G. Frey, Bowling Green State University, "Moral Community and Animal Research in Medicine"
David H. Smith, Indiana University, "Religion and the Use of Animals in Research: Some First Thoughts"
John P. Gluck, University of New Mexico, "Harry F. Harlow and Animal Research: Reflection on the Ethical Paradox"
F. Barbara Orlans, Georgetown University, "Ethical Decision Making About Animal Experiments"
Nicholas H. Steneck, University of Michigan, "Role of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee in Monitoring Research"

Ethical Issues of Animal Research

A review of the 1996 conference can be found in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol 276, No. 2 (July 10, 1996), pp. 87-88 ("Conference Explores Ethics of Animal Research with Critical Thinking and Balanced Argument," by Donald F. Phillips).

Objectives | Who Should Attend | Registration Fee | Speakers | Conference Schedule

Jointly sponsored by the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, Indiana University, and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University

May 30 - June 1, 1996, Bloomington, Indiana

Popular attitudes and public policies regarding issues of animal welfare are changing rapidly. This three-day conference, continuing a series of meetings held at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics over the last several years, is designed for teachers of science, medicine, and veterinary medicine at graduate and undergraduate levels, practicing physicians and veterinarians, members of Institutional Animal Use and Care Committees, as well as scientists, other scholars, and members of the general public who are concerned with ethical issues arising from the use of non-human animals in scientific and medical research.

OBJECTIVES

This is a multi-disciplinary conference for those broadly interested in the profound questions of ethics and animal use. The conference will present a well-balanced, wide range of moral perspectives on the ethical dilemmas of balancing human benefits against animal harms in scientific research. Conference attendance will help individuals critique their personal viewpoints and to respect other peoplesÕ viewpoints.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Everyone interested in ethical issues of animal research is invited to attend, including biological, biomedical, and social scientists, clinicians (veterinarians and physicians), and scholars with a background in the humanities and philosophy, as well as members of the general public who are concerned with these issues. The conference will enhance the experience of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee members and others responsible for training programs within academia or industry.

REGISTRATION FEE

The registration fee is $300 if paid by May 1 and $350 if paid on May 2 or later. This fee covers tuition, course materials, a reception dinner on May 30, and a continental breakfast, lunch, and refreshment breaks May 31 and June 1. The fee does not cover lodging or dinner on May 31 or June 1. Registrants who withdraw will receive a $250 refund if the Poynter Center is notified in writing by May 15, 1996. Please print and complete he application below.

SPEAKERS

R. G. Frey, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Philosophy, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and Senior Research Fellow, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.. He is author of numerous writings on ethics and animal ethics, including Interests and Rights: The Case Against Animals, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1980.

John P. Gluck, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Originally a comparative psychologist specializing in learning ability of nonhuman primates, he is now engaged in the study of the ethical justification of animal research.

F. Barbara Orlans, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.. The paperback edition of her book, In the Name of Science: Issues in Responsible Animal Experimentation, is being published by Oxford University Press in 1996. She has a long-time commitment to promoting animal welfare issues.

Caird Rexroad, Jr., Ph.D., Research Leader, Gene Evaluation and Mapping Lab, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland. He conducts research in the field of reproductive physiology and endorcrinology and was a member of the team that first reported on the successful production of transgenic livestock in Nature. He has since published extensively in this field.

David H. Smith, Ph.D., Director, Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, and Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington. He has been involved in several major projects to improve the teaching of research ethics in universities and has written and taught about ethical issues in research and religion and ethics.

Nicholas Steneck, Ph.D., Director, Historical Center for the Health Sciences, and Professor, Department of History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has written broadly on the history of science from the Middle Ages to the present, with a current focus on the institutional setting of science and medicine in relationship to the development of universities. He served on the University of Michigan Committee on the Use and Care of Animals for five years.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Each three-hour session will consist of a plenary presentation and discussion followed by a break and substantial discussion in small groups. All participants will be assigned to small groups, and small group discussion will be led by a scholar well-informed on ethical issues of animal research.

Thursday, May 30

1:00-2:00 pm -- Registration.

2:00-5:00 pm -- Session 1 -- Philosophical Arguments For and Against Animal Research. Raymond G. Frey, Philosophy, Bowling Green State University. A discussion of the contrasting views on the moral status of animals and the value of their lives, including a presentation of major philosophical viewpoints on these issues as they relate to animal experimentation.

7:00-9:00 pm -- Dinner and reception (provided).

Friday, May 31

9:00-12:00 noon -- Session 2 -- Religious Perspectives on the Moral Standing of Animals. David H. Smith, Religious Studies and the Poynter Center, Indiana University. The relevance of some major religious beliefs, myths, and doctrines to the questions of the use of animals in research.

12:00-1:30 pm -- Lunch (provided).

2:00-5:00 pm -- Session 3 -- Decision Making in Animal Research. Nicholas Steneck, History, University of Michigan. Reflections on the role of a non-scientist member of an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee in safeguarding institutional integrity. Barbara Orlans, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. What factors are ethically relevant in making decisions, and who should participate in decision making? The role of the public and of scientists in establishing public policy in the United States and other countries will be compared.

5:00 pm -- Break for dinner (on your own).

Saturday, June 1

9:00-12:00 noon -- Session 4 -- A Scientist's Perspective on the Manipulation of Livestock Genomes. Caird Rexroad, Gene Evaluation and Mapping Lab, U.S. Department of Agriculture. This session will address the issue of genetic engineering of agricultural and laboratory research animals.

12:00-1:30 pm -- Lunch (provided).

2:00-5:00 pm -- Session 5 -- Raising Monkeys Without Mothers. John P. Gluck, Psychology, University of New Mexico. An individual scientist's perspective of personally participating in Harry Harlow's experiments of the 1960s and 1970s on maternal deprivation. Although these experiments raised public controversy, the scientific community heralded the work as important and influential.

5:00 pm -- Adjourn.

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