Ethical considerations and standards

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There is great controversy on the questions whether, when and how experiments with non-human primates are ethically justifiable. Because of the close phylogenetic relationship, many claim that non-human primates are the best model to address particular research questions. On the contrary, others argue that exactly the evolutionary similarities are the reason why they object experiments with non-human primates as a matter of principle. They argue that ethical justification supporting non-human primate research should also hold true for doing the research directly on humans. There is no reason to expect that the moral dissent with respect to ethical justification of research involving non-human primates, particularly in a global context, will disappear. Regardless of the fundamental dissent, practical decisions have to be made. The main objective of this ethical research project is to provide the ethical and historical background for enabling non-arbitrary decisions in a situation of fundamental dissent. Therefore, five research goals are essential: 1. Systematic Overview A systematic overview of the different ethical positions on using non-human primates for research will be given. Positions will be described and ordered with respect to the degree of promoting or objecting research on non-human primates. The criteria of ethical relevance will be presented and implicit presuppositions will be explicated. 2. Historical Overview of Ethics of Non-human Primate Research and Its Cultural Background A historical overview of the ethics of non-human primate research and its cultural background will be elaborated. On the basis of official decisions and regulations, cultural differences will be set out and correlated to the systematic overview of ethical positions and arguments. 3. Gradualist Paradigm With respect to the fundamental dissent, a gradualist model will be set up concerning the ethical acceptability of non-human primate research. Proceeding pragmatically, this paradigm will provide a ranking order, which presents research settings step by step from the most acceptable ones to ethically more problematic ones. This pragmatic proceeding is based on the conviction that even in case of moral dissent a consensus might be possible about the question concerning which options are more and which options are less acceptable. The underlying arguments for the gradual assessment of the different options will be analysed. Against the backdrop of such a gradualist model, arguments can be provided as a basis for a decision in coherence with other moral decisions in biomedical research. 4. Directory of Official Decisions All relevant official decisions, regulations and laws with respect to non-human primate research in North-America and Europe will be documented in a directory. Via an internet platform we will provide open access to this database for all members of the research group and others. 5. Ethics Consultation During the funding period of the research group, we provide ethical consultation for planning research projects. We offer to give advice on how to design experiments with non-human primates with consideration of the ethical dimension.