New Maternal Deprivation Research at U of Wisconsin
--> Last month I gave a talk at the University of Wisconsin at the invitation of the Forum on Animal Research Ethics . This forum has hosted a variety of speakers who discussed different aspects of animal research. I spoke about animal research and the limits of medicine. I focused on the ways that ethical questions are inseparable from scientific questions. Values are implicated in what we do, particularly when suffering is involved (and I talked about both human and non-human suffering). Importantly, just because something is scientifically justified doesn’t mean it is ethically justified. If an NIH panel decides to fund an experiment that doesn’t necessarily mean it is an ethically justified experiment. In general, NIH panels tend to defer to the judgments of IACUCs (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees) on ethical questions. But if an IACUC approves an experimental protocol does that mean it is ethica...