The Collegian

Issue date: 3/28/06 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Ken Fung

Drug testing has been taking place for years on animals and humans, but what happens when the testing goes terribly wrong?

In London last week, six men were given a trial injection by the American drug research company Parexel. This drug was going to be used to treat arthritis and leukemia. However, merely minutes after this drug was injected, the six men all began to drop to the floor. The men began "vomiting uncontrollably, fainting, and hyperventilating." They were rushed to the hospital where they remained in intensive care, experiencing organ failure.

Many people believe that testing should only be done on animals, yet there are animal rights groups who believe that it is just as bad to administer tests to animals as it is to humans. One could argue that animals have just as much right to live as humans do; from a religious perspective, in the story of Genesis man was created and then as a companion, animals were created - even before woman was created. Then again, Native Americans used to make use of animals to the fullest extent. They used animals for survival while still respecting them. When debating who should die first in these situations, it comes down to our contribution in this world. Humans can offer their intelligence, work ethic, and talent to make this world what it is. However, it seems as though animals do not. Doing their natural duties in life, such as killing other predators and reproducing to keep their species alive seems like it's not longer enough. In this case, if test rats had been used for this injection, the consequences would not have caused any sort of stir. It seems as though it is pointless to sacrifice a human life in order to save another. Laboratory animals are raised for the specific purpose of testing drugs. Those men were merely participating in the testing for monetary benefit and the satisfaction of doing something good: their lives were not created for that sole purpose. If the experiment had been done on rats, hospital bills would not have to be paid, mayhem would not have broken loose, and families would not have been shaken up.

In terms of saving a life, a human's life should be saved before an animal's. There is nothing that makes a human life more precious than that of a rat; however, when the case is testing drugs for medication, a human life should not be risked because the repercussions are so much more severe. These men in London may not live through this experience, and if they do, their lives will be changed forever. People should not be sacrificing themselves for medical testing because if the goal is to be saving a life, we must save them all, and leave the testing for animals.

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