Principles of Animal Research Ethics

by Tom L. Beauchamp, David DeGrazia

Overview

This volume is the first to present a framework of general principles for animal research ethics together with an analysis of the principles' meaning and moral requirements. This new framework of six moral principles constitutes a more suitable set of moral guidelines than any currently available, including the influential framework presented in the Principles of Humane Experimental Technique published in 1959 by zoologist and psychologist William M. S. Russell and microbiologist Rex L. Burch. While other accounts have presented specific directives to guide the use of animals in research, Tom L. Beauchamp and David DeGrazia here offer a set of general moral principles that are adequate to the task of evaluating biomedical and behavioral research involving animals today. Their comprehensive framework addresses ethical requirements pertaining to societal benefit-a critical consideration in justifying the harming of animals in research-and features a thorough program of animal welfare protection. In doing so, their principles bridge the gap between the concerns of the research community and the animal-protection community.

The book is distinctive in featuring commentaries on the framework of principles by eminent figures in animal research ethics from an array of relevant disciplines: veterinary medicine, biomedical research, biology, zoology, comparative psychology, primatology, law, and bioethics. The seven commentators-Larry Carbone, Frans de Waal, Rebecca Dresser, Joseph Garner, Brian Hare, Margaret Landi, and Julian Savulescu-scrutinize Beauchamp and DeGrazia's principles in terms of both their theoretical cogency and practical implications, evaluating their relevance to the medical and scientific professions. The range of ethical issues encompassed in Principles of Animal Research Ethics will be useful to professionals in the biomedical and behavioral sciences and will also appeal to individuals and scholars interested in bioethics, animal ethics, and applied ethics generally.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190939120
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/30/2020
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	728,304
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Tom L. Beauchamp is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Bioethics, Georgetown University. His research centers on biomedical ethics, animal research ethics, and the philosophy of David Hume. His books include Principles of Biomedical Ethics (with James Childress); A History and Theory of Informed Consent (with Ruth Faden); Standing on Principles: Collected Essays; Hume and the Problem of Causation (with Alexander Rosenberg); and five volumes of the critical edition of David Hume's Philosophy published in Oxford University Press's Clarendon Hume editions. From 1976-78 he drafted the bulk of The Belmont Report for the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects. He has been given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Research Ethics by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R); the Henry Beecher Award of the Hastings Center, New York; and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH).

David DeGrazia is Elton Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University and Senior Research Fellow in the National Institutes of Health Department of Bioethics. DeGrazia's research focuses primarily on applied ethics and ethical theory. His scholarly work on animals addresses their moral status, their consciousness and cognitive capacities, and the ethics of using animals in research and for food. In 2018 he was named a Fellow of the Hastings Center and the recipient of GWU's Distinguished Scholar Award.

Table of Contents

About the Authors and Commentators
Preface
Preamble to Principles of Animal Research Ethics

Principles of Animal Research Ethics - David DeGrazia and Tom L. Beauchamp

The Essential Place of Moral Justification

Principles of Social Benefit
(1) The Principle of No Alternative Method
(2) The Principle of Expected Net Benefit
(3) The Principle of Sufficient Value to Justify Harm

Principles of Animal Welfare
(1) The Principle of No Unnecessary Harm
(2) The Principle of Basic Needs
(3) The Principle of Upper Limits to Harm

The Crucial Role of Ethics Review Committees

Scientific Necessity as a Justification for Causing Harm

On The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique


Critical Commentary by Authorities on Animal Research Ethics
"The Potential and Impacts of Practical Application of Beauchamp and DeGrazia's Six Principles" Larry Carbone
"Reflections on Primates in Research" Frans B. M. de Waal
"Putting the Ethical Principles into Practice" Rebecca Dresser
"The Mouse in the Room: The Distinction Between Regulations and Ethics" Joseph P. Garner
"Compassion for Other Animals Beyond the Human Hierarchy of Concern" Brian Hare
"Commentary on the Beauchamp-DeGrazia Framework of Principles" Margaret S. Landi
"The Six Principles, Philosophy, and Applying Human Ethics to Animals" Julian Savulescu

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Ioan-Alexandru Beldean, MA (The Ohio State University)
Description: This book proposes a framework of ethical principles needed to systematically and unvaryingly evaluate laboratory practices in animal subject research. Several critical responses to this proposal are included to deepen the conversation and offer further practical, scientific, and philosophical insight.
Purpose: The intent is to offer a philosophically sound articulation of principles that promote consensus between the justification to use animals in research and their welfare by providing a methodical assessment of the moral requirements for animal subject research. This book aims to achieve its objectives by offering a streamlined view of the specificities of moral justification, stated in a way similar to the Belmont Report.
Audience: This book is intended for a vast array of professionals: researchers, IACUC members, ethicists, academics, and students. It is suitable for anyone engaged in research involving animals. Considering the authors' expertise and renowned profiles, this foundational rational-analytical presentation may become for the field of animal subject research what the Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 8th edition, Beauchamp (Oxford University Press, 2019) is for human subject research - a textbook for generations of students and educators.
Features: The authors argue that the core values for the use of animals in research are social benefit and animal welfare. Under these values, a set of six principles are articulated in a manner that conveys clarity in the requirements for animal testing and their limits. At the basis of all the research practice and ethical analysis lays moral justification. This element craftily places the responsibility on the dialogue between investigators and members of animal care and use committees. The subsequent principles offer an encompassing rational practical analysis of this process. At this point, readers may expect a lengthy foray into elements such as moral status, distinguishing morally between levels of perceived harm, or defining and exploring basic animal needs, perhaps even discussing the freedom from premature death that could be attributed to a living organism. It is here that the initial proposition and analysis stops without resolving them and recognizes the many voices and arguments that already exist and can be built around such metaethical issues. The second part of the book gathers critical responses to this framework from eminent authors, which aptly critique, embrace, and complement the proposal, accepting these disputed elements by offering specificity and scientific and philosophic granularity.
Assessment: The art of this book lies in trying to offer a foundational analysis and understanding of basic principles that can be used as arguments in creating practical guides and renewed policies that cover both major and minute scientific and regulatory aspects of animal research. Unlike other specialty books, it does not attempt to resolve irreconcilable moral disputes or offer legislative guidance, but proposes a charter to serve as ethical reference.

Doody's Review Service

"Principles of Animal Research Ethics is an important new voice in the field of animal research ethics, particularly for those who are interested in engaging in meaningful deliberations of the principles that justify the guidelines for the moral treatment of animals in research. This book provides a valuable tool for those interested in going beyond what is "scientifically justified" and exploring what is morally justified when considering the legitimacy of research protocols." — Maria Botero, Metascience

"This book provides a valuable tool for those interested in going beyond what is "scientifically justified" and exploring what is morally justified when considering the legitimacy of research protocols." — Maria Botero, Psychology and Philosophy Department, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA, Metascience

"Beauchamp and DeGrazia's work constitutes a remarkably clear and highly authoritative presentation of key issues in the ethical justification and assessment of animal research. The authors are towering figures in both animal and human subject research ethics, and in this must-read work, they are at their best." — Rebecca L. Walker, Hastings Center Report

From the Publisher