Bioethics - Animal Testing
Background: For centuries, there has been a constant struggle between science and its ethical counterparts. On one hand, there are necessary measures in order to further advance science and medical technology. On the other hand, it is undeniable that some methods of science face strong objection by religious groups and people with strong moral beliefs. Issues that fall under bioethics have included: cloning, abortion, contraception, STEM cell research, and animal testing.
Animal Testing: While animal testing has proved valuable for scientific research, the treatment and abuse of these animals has become a huge problem. Although our group understood the benefits of animal testing, we maintained a negative stance against it. Now that modern technology has given way to alternative in-vitro testing, we believe that science should move away from animals who think and feel just like we do.
Conclusion: Of all the current topics presentations, I think the bioethics topic was the most personal. As both an individual and as a class, we were able to really get into the nuances of the subject. Although the class discussions were lengthy, I loved how we were able to see the vast variety of opinions and reasoning. The most interesting aspect for me was the fact that we now have better alternative methods. Ten years ago, in-vitro testing would not have been possible -- now, they are. It just shows how vigorously expansive the research field is. Right now, there is no cure to cancer, but perhaps a couple years down the road, who knows what will exist?
Collaboration/Reflection: The collaboration during this project was one of the best so far. Because we used Google Docs, we were able to create several slides at once. Each person was able to contribute their share of slides, so the workload was equally distributed the entire length of the project. We managed our time well, and each group member did a great job doing in-depth research and getting really close with the topic. I believe our presentation was solid and well-rehearsed, and I could not have been happier with the collaboration aspect.