It is true that animal testing has been an ongoing process which leads to a number of life-saving breakthroughs in medical history. While I acknowledge that experimenting on animals produces serious ethical problems, I also believe that such research plays an indispensable role in the development of medicines.
On the one hand, opponents of the use of animal experimentations have compelling reasons against this method. First and foremost, it is argued that the procedures performed on living creatures for purposes of assessing the effectiveness of new medicinal products can cause them tremendous pain and distress. For example, a great number of rats and mice used in behavioral experiments have to suffer from electric shock and forced swimming which is considered morally wrong. Furthermore, a common argument heard against the use of animals in drug trials is that animals do not naturally suffer from as many diseases as humans do. Therefore, many people think inducing these diseases in animals artificially do not accurately mimic human responses. They claim that using rats, monkeys or primates in laboratory experiments is not only unethical but also ineffective, and other alternatives should be used instead.
On the other hand, I would have to support animal research due to the fact that reliable alternatives may not be always available. Thanks to advanced technology, there have been some more accurate methods such as cell cultures and computer simulations that may help reduce the need for animal testing. However, these methods have limits because they are unable to deal with the extremely complex interactions between molecules and cells as well as do not allow scientists to test disease treatments in a whole living system. This means animal experimentation cannot be replaced completely by even the most sophisticated computer models. As a result, it is necessary to carry on animals testing for new drugs so people can enjoy a better quality of life.
In conclusion, it seems to me that the benefits of using live animals in medical research clearly outweigh the drawbacks.