Sunday, September 7, 2014

A Blueprint for Studying Nonhuman Animals in a Post-vivisection World

Long time APLNJ member Cynthia Radnitz, Ph.D., wrote the following article published by the Journal of Critical Animal Studies, May 2014. We found the article very interesting and thought you would too. 
Angi Metler, director
APLNJ

Applying the Argument from Marginal Cases to the Protection of Animal Subjects in Research: A Blueprint for Studying Nonhuman Animals in a Post-vivisection World


Author: Cynthia Radnitz
Title: Professor
Affiliation: Fairleigh Dickinson University
  
Abstract

Although experimentation on nonhuman animals for both research and product testing continues, there are some signs that we are on a trajectory toward abolition of animal model research due to the combined effects of pressure from animal activists, changing public attitudes toward animal research, improved replacement technologies for both scientific investigation and product testing, and the expense of purchasing, housing and studying animals. Nonetheless, just as we study humans, we may still be interested in studying animals using research paradigms that protect their rights. By applying the Argument from Marginal Cases to animal research guidelines, a plan is presented for shifting toward ensuring the rights of animals by affording them the same status for consideration in research studies as that given to two groups of humans classified as "vulnerable" in laws governing human subjects research, specifically young children and individuals with cognitive impairments. In doing so, we propose the idea of animal assent as an additional layer of protection so that animal research participants are adequately safeguarded.


Link to full article is here. Go to page 51.