I gain all the advantages of modern medicine etcetera that come from animal research. I'm not blind to that fact. I'm also aware that my empathy levels vary according to the animal in question, which is awful (but true for many/most/all people).
And yet, given the power to make such a decision I'd ban all animal experimentation without question (and I'd include Laika's situation in that).
If it is so vital that an experiment be performed, then a willing human volunteer should be found. If no human is willing to undergo these tortures in the name of science and for the sake of humanity, then the experiment in question is apparently not that vital after all.
In these situations, humans have the choice and humans have the benefit. We should leave other species out of it.