Is a human life considered more valuable than every other type of life on the planet? This is the type of question that ethics presents to situations in the scientific world for proposed “advancements” by using animals as mere tools. The action introduced in the article “The Heart of the Matter” is to use Chimpanzee hearts to “build a ‘bridge'” for heart transplant patients so they can live a bit longer until they are able to obtain a human heart of their own for permanent use. The problem that I have with this and most people would is the fact that the heart of the chimpanzee is just being used for the ends of humans; this procedure isn’t something necessary especially since it is most likely not to work, as stated in the article. I am all for the betterment of mankind and helping people survive, but I have a problem when animals, especially one such as a chimpanzee that is so similar to us, are used when the end factor may not justify the means.

In the commentary section of the article, Strachan Donnelley devises an argument in which I agree with. He focuses on the ethical questions presented when not going to an extreme side. He goes on to say this use of chimpanzee hearts its not ethically right nor is it morally right because it will result in the eventual extinction of the animal species. This is my same sentiment on this subject. The people that may receive these hearts will live longer for only a few more days while the chimpanzees giving the hearts will die. This factor added to the fact that these animals are already endangered will result in the complete annihilation of the species. I felt Willard Gaylin made a very good argument, but did not convince me. He focuses on the pathos of the argument to try and take in account the emotions of the readers to seeing and agreeing with him on this issue. There are, however, more factors that apply besides the ones he presents. Homo sapiens are the most intelligent beings on the planet, but that gives us the most responsibility to ensure that we do not take advantage of this power. As one of the most popular saying goes from the infamous spiderman comics, “With great power comes great responsibility”. This applies to humans in various ways especially with our animal counterparts and how we treat them.

I end with a simple cartoon that I found to be a good representation of what we should do for animals before using them for whatever advancement we want.