Formaldehyde can also damage the eyes, cause asthma attacks and bronchitis, and severely irritate the skin. So far, people can only speculate how inhaling and touching formaldehyde affects the long-term health of students and teachers. Dissection has become big business. About six million animals are dissected in U.S. schools each year. Biology courses are intended to expose students to useful concepts and stimulate an interest in the life sciences, but dissections can interfere with these goals.
Dissection devalues life and teaches insensitivity by treating living beings as disposable objects.
The right to refuse to dissect has been established in many schools across the country because so many students have refused to participate. But there always has been someone at every school who was the first person to say no to dissection. At your school, you may be that person. It is not always easy to set a precedent, but it is well worth it to take that first step. One of the most important things you can do is assert your right to an education which does not violate your principles.