The following question is cribbed from a philosophy for young people site called Wondering Aloud, still some of the questions are worth discussing regardless of age. They pose a question about animal rights vs medical research thusly:
You have a little sister who is very sick. The only way to save her is to inject many kittens with the illness she has and experiment with various medicines to see if they will work. What should the doctors do? Do animals have a right to life? Are we justified in using them in experiments?
Thoughts?
I'd be interested in hearing from b_b, mk, organicAnt, OftenBen and of course, the rest of you.
For me, the answer is easy and I'll gladly discuss my thinking in the comments.
Edit: Also, this could potentially be an emotionally loaded topic, but I'm sure we can have a civil discussion.