The Biocentric View Deals with the Rights of the Animals

God created humans and now humans are trying to create something that has never existed before, a transgenic organism. The other criticism expressed is that transplanting an animal’s organ into a human interferes with nature. These animal’s organs essentially become artificial as humans have changed their genome, which also does not happen naturally. Humans are trying to change nature for our benefit, doing anything possible to survive, no matter how harmful or unethical it may be.

The consequentialist arguments fall under two categories; anthropocentric and biocentric (Manesh S. et al. 2014). From the anthropocentric view, most people are worried about the transfer of diseases from xenotransplantation due to the lack of testing and evidence, as some diseases can affect both animals and humans, like PERV that is found in pigs. PERV’s do not effect pigs and stands for porcine endogenous retrovirus. Unfortunately, PERV’s can affect humans so they have to be removed from the pig genome. Some research has been done using CRISPR/Cas9 to remove the PERV virus from pigs so their organs are viable for future transplants. When dealing with xenotransplantation, the person receiving the transgenic organ must take certain immunosuppressant’s in order to lower the rate of rejection. However, these drugs can also severely damage the immune system, which could lead to a higher rate of infection from various diseases. Undergoing xenotransplantation is a huge decision, as it will affect one’s life for forever. You never know what could happen down the line.

On the other hand, the biocentric view deals directly with the rights of the animals. One man, the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, believed that animals should be included into ethical society because they have the ability to feel pain and that they are sentient. If they are to be used in medicinal testing, the animals should not have to suffer in any way. Today, many people and organizations are involved in animal rights and welfare, specifically under circumstances that deal with animal testing. The animals being tested on are exposed to suffering for as long as the research study takes. The Humane Society of the US states that “xenotransplantation is neither ethical, cost-efficient, or safe” (Graham J. 2018). From a survey described by Deseret News, 41% of people said bioengineering animals is not okay. 16% were concerned about human health, 18% said it interfered with God, and 21% were opposed because of animal suffering (Graham J. 2018). Those who support the biocentric view deal with animal rights and animal welfare, believing that animals should not be used for the benefit of humans. Animals were not created and put on the earth to be used as test subjects.

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