I’m always curious which way the wind is blowing on animal rights, especially in venues where a liberal/lefty slant isn’t a given. A co-worker recently steered me toward this article in First Things, a publication of interreligious but orthodox theologians interested in shaping public policy. Yes. That’s right. I’m terrified as well.
Interestingly, the author attempts to make the case for an alliance between the anti-abortion movement and vegetarians (and maybe vegans, too?). At one point in my intellectual development, I was much enamoured of this idea — after all, if you consider an unborn fetus’ life sacrosanct, it doesn’t seem like much of a leap to lend a similar sanctity to the life of a chicken/rabbit/pig/cow/lobster… Ah, youth! My naivete seriously underestimated the speciesist outlook of many pro-lifers, and I myself hadn’t yet tackled the sticky issues of criminalization and bodily autonomy that attend the abortion debate. But it’s a debate worth having, so let’s have it!
