Thought I'd weigh in, for the whole less than a penny it's worth. The first open heart surgeries were tested on dogs by Dr. Blalock and Dr. Vivien Thomas of Johns Hopkins University Hospital. They were performed to try to help children with a congenital disorder called Tetralogy of Fallot. The "heart lung machine" developed to perform this procedure and skillset learned are the foundation of open heart surgery as we know it today. Before this was developed, ppl died of heart disorders bc it was believed operating on the heart itself was almost a religious sacrilege.
That being said, I am grateful to these animals that gave their lives so that others' lives can be saved. I hope they were treated humanely and with dignity.
I think it is not such a black/white topic. Do we have the right to view human lives as more valuable? Ellie May brings up a good point about vet med testing on animals. There we are viewing some animals more valuable than others. Do we have the right to do so? Not sure. Where would we be without it, though? |