An Ethical Struggle

At one time in the not-too-distant past, humans were in the cross-hairs of science. Indigents, orphans, criminals, the mentally ill, ethnic minorities, soldiers, and others have been the subject of scientific experiments. They too were “like us,” but deemed not enough “like us” to receive ethical and legal protection.
The Nuremberg Trials of 1945-49 revealed the horrors that Nazi scientists inflicted upon humans whom they viewed as inferior and unworthy of moral protection. And as late as 1972 in the United States, public health officials ended a 30-year research study that allowed unsuspecting African American males to die of syphilis – a treatable disease – in the now infamous Tuskegee experiments.
Fortunately, times have changed for humans in America, in part due to groups like NEAVS that advocated for such change. New ethical boundaries have been placed on the American scientific community. We now recognize that all human beings are worthy of protection. Ethical codes and new laws for experiments on humans require full disclosure and an individual’s written consent.
First, do no harm
NEAVS has long advocated that the scientific code of ethics for research and the protections it affords be expanded to include nonhuman species. Achieving that goal will take years. But one species – the chimpanzee, increasingly acknowledged as so “like us” – is in a unique position to lead the way now.
The mandate for “good” science must include an evolving code of ethics, not just the development of new methods and knowledge. In many cases, progress in both these arenas goes hand-in-hand. Ethical consideration must drive scientific progress. Without an ethical system that protects all species, science will continue to fall prey to the cruelties of an over-zealous intellect – an intellect that has too often shown itself to be dangerously devoid of heart.
Project R&R is a call to all Americans and to all scientists to commit to one of the next great advances in scientific and social consciousness: ending the use of chimpanzees, and therefore all great apes, in research.