Ethical Issue Analysis

Scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) are
genetically modifying mice in order to make them mentally ill.  Dr.
Jacqueline Crawley and her colleagues are searching for an animal model
for schizophrenia.  If they can create "schizophrenic mice" then they
can test promising new medications without risking the health of human
subjects. 

Most pharmaceuticals are initially tested on animals.  A candidate for
a new medication may look promising in the test tube, only to have
dangerous or fatal side-effects in animals.  In an ideal world, only
chemicals that prove safe and effective in animals will be tested in
humans.  Since animals don't get schizophrenia, we can currently test
whether a new drug candidate is safe in animals, but we can't determine
whether it is effective.  If scientists succeed in creating
schizophrenic mice, then new medications can be developed more quickly
in some cases.

Crawley's lab has already succeeded in creating anxious mice and
depressed mice.  They have had some initial success creating mice which
demonstrate one symptom of schizophrenia - the tendency to flinch even
when they know that a loud noise is coming.  Initial results suggest
that antipsychotic medications that are used to treat schizophrenia also
help suppress this tendency to flinch in mice. 

Is it ethical to genetically engineer mice in order to give them a
disorder that resembles schizophrenia?  Most scientists believe that it
is.  Animal research of this sort saves human lives and helps us find
new treatment for disabling mental disorders.  Animal rights activists
disagree with this position.  Organizations such as People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) believe that all animal research is
unethical. 

There is certainly room for disagreement here, but most countries allow
- and even support - such research.   Such research may pay huge
dividends in the future, and I believe that it is ethical to conduct
it.  Reasonable people may disagree on this issue, of course.