Concluding Remarks

Abstract

Most scientists started out in laboratories doing science, and some of us are fortunate in that we can still do it. There is very little which gives as much satisfaction and pleasure as doing an experiment when you know you are doing it properly and you get an answer that you know is ‘clear cut’. I think it is reasonable for us to use the skills that we learn in the laboratory to try to do something about the safety of ourselves and our fellow citizens. I think it is right that we bring our wider view of society, and the moral imperatives that are there, into our work. We are not just asking, ‘Can this experiment be done?’, but also, ‘Ought this experiment be done?’ We are also saying that certain kinds of experiments ought not to be done, unless there is some compelling reason for doing them. We ought not to use higher animals, and we ought not to use severe procedures unless, after careful consideration, we cannot see any way of avoiding it, because of some overriding need.