My Moral Dilemma with Medical Testing on Animals

I’m struggling with a moral dilemma. I strongly believe that all animals are independent living beings that deserve to be treated with compassion. Yet I rely on medications manufactured by pharmaceutical companies that test on animals. Even if I didn’t take manufactured drugs, I would have to ingest animal parts, such as pig and cow thyroid, in order to survive. How can Pagans with serious illness find a balance between the harshness of survival and compassion?

My family raised cows for a few years during my early teens. Dad taught us girls not to name any of them or their calves. He didn’t want us crying when our pets were sold. We were taught similar values with hunting from my grandpa and dad. Only kill what you will eat or share with others.

Since my dad was often away with the Airforce reserves and my mom was in college, much of their care fell to me. It was easy to fill their grain and tighten their fly back scratch in the spring. In the winter though, the water pipe often froze so I had to haul water from the house on my sled since I wasn’t old enough to drive. It took multiple trips of back breaking work.

I didn’t mind though because I felt we shared a kindness and respect. The lead cow would let me stroke the soft white curls of her face. I played chest bumping and head butting games with our young bull. We did name him George since he was a pure bred Angus and wasn’t going to be food.

It wasn’t until later in life that I learned how thyroid medication and insulin were first created. The first insulin treatment was the extract of dog’s pancreas given to a fourteen year old boy. (History of Insulin) Later they used cow and pig pancreas. For hypothyroidism, pig and cow thyroids were used. Not only do these animals give me life sustaining protein, but they were the foundation for the medicine I take today. Well, I’m off insulin now.

According to the National Institute of Health, there are many laws and regulations in place to enforce the care of animals used for research. But how much of a life can an animal have if they are in captivity and experimented on? Then again, what kind of life do animals have on farms especially large factory farms. None. Is is better that the lives of animals in labs are sacrificed so that thousands of humans can live?

Perhaps what I need to remember is that life is filled with life and death, suffering and joy. I’ve seen my cat outside holding down a mouse with one paw. The mouse was bleeding from the neck. My cat would lift it’s paw and the feeble mouse would try to run. The cat would drop his paw down again and lick his lips in boredom. Even animals can be cruel.

Feeling lab experiments are cruel makes me wants to stop buying medications from pharmaceuticals that still test on animals. But I can’t. I would die because I don’t have access to cow and pig thyroids and pancreas. Those would have to be dried, ground up and measured. Plus each organ offers a different amount of what my body needs so the dosage isn’t guaranteed. Thinking about it makes me feel like one of the mutants from The X Files or creatures on Supernatural.

Let’s be more aware of how animals have played a major role in furthering human life. How then can we honour this more in our religious practice?

References:

“History of Insulin” by Timothy Gower Discovery Health

“Desiccated thyroid extract” Wikipedia

Medical Research with Animals: from the National Institute of Health

NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare

Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

Animal Welfare Act

Office of Animal Care and Use Regulations and Standards