An ethical problem; or, Sidelights upon scientific experimentation on man and animalsLeffingwell, Albert
Philosophy
An ethical problem; or, Sidelights upon scientific experimentation on man and animals
Leffingwell, Albert
Medicine, Experimental; Vivisection
It appeared that at Paris the whole neighborhood adjoining the medical
school--including patients in a maternity hospital--"were constantly
disturbed, when the course of physiology was proceeding at the school,
by the howling and barking of the dogs, both night and day." The dogs
were silenced. "The fact was, the poor animals were now subjected to
the painful operation of dividing the laryngeal nerves as preliminary
to the performance of other mutilations! And what were these dogs for?
Simply for the vain repetition of clap-trap experiments, by way of
illustrations of lectures for first-year students! These facts
becoming known, the general public has at length interfered, and, we
think, with very great propriety. THE ENTIRE PICTURE OF VIVISECTIONAL
ILLUSTRATION OF ORDINARY LECTURES IS TO US PERSONALLY REPULSIVE IN THE
EXTREME. Look, for example, at the animal before us, stolen (to begin
with) from his master; the poor creature hungry, tied up for days and
nights, pining for his home, is at length brought into the theatre.
As his crouching and feeble form is strapped upon the table, HE
LICKS THE VERY HAND THAT TIES HIM! He struggles, but in vain, and
uselessly expresses his fear and suffering until a muzzle is buckled
on his jaws to stifle every sound. The scalpel penetrates his
quivering flesh. One effort only is now natural until his powers are
exhausted--a vain, instinctive resistance to the cruel form that
stands over him, the impersonation of Magendie and his class. `I
recall to mind,' says Dr. Latour, `a poor dog, the roots of whose
vertebral nerves Magendie desired to lay bare to demonstrate Bell's
theory, which he claimed for his own. The dog, already mutilated and
bleeding, twice escaped from under the implacable knife, and threw his
front paws around Magendie's neck, licking, as if to soften his
murderer, and ask for mercy! Vivisectors may laugh, but I confess I
was unable to endure that heartrending spectacle.' But the whole thing
is too horrible to dwell upon. Heaven forbid that any description of
students in this country should be witness to such deeds as these! We
repudiate the whole of this class of procedure. Science will refuse
to recognize it as its offspring, and humanity shudders as it gazes on
its face."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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