(105 ILCS 112/5)
Sec. 5.
Findings and purpose.
(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that the appropriate use of
dissection in research and education has contributed a great deal to the
advancement of medical and biological science. Without dissection the science
of anatomy could not have advanced, and it is the bedrock supporting the modern
practice of surgery in its many forms. The appropriate use of dissection has
brought many benefits to the people of this State, and it continues to play
important roles in medical and veterinary practice, research, and education.
(b) The General Assembly also finds that the remarkable progress of
the last few decades has produced significant advances in computing
and the graphic and representational arts, and that these developments have
resulted in the creation of many new technologies for teaching anatomy,
physiology, and other medical and biological sciences. In certain
circumstances these new technologies are capable of providing an educational
experience superior to dissection, and they have often proven to be less
expensive and more humane.
(c) The General Assembly also finds that the use of dissection, when
inappropriate or poorly supervised, can result in the inhumane treatment
and unnecessary suffering of animals. The inappropriate or careless use of
dissection in schools has also in some instances traumatized students
and contributed to a failure to teach proper respect for life and living
creatures.
(d) It is the purpose of this Act to encourage schools
in this State to make available and use alternatives to dissection when those
alternatives are appropriate and can provide an educational experience that is
equal or superior to the traditional use of dissection. It is not in any way
the intention of this Act to discourage the appropriate use of dissection in
research or when it provides a valuable educational experience to students.
(Source: P.A. 91-771, eff. 6-9-00.)
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