The Nonhuman Rights Project lost a unanimous opinion in a New York Court of Appeals ruling that ruled–properly–chimpanzees are not persons.
From the New York Times story:
In a blow for animal lovers and simian-rights advocates, a five-member state judicial panel unanimously ruled on Thursday that a chimpanzee could not be considered a “legal person” and thus sue for his freedom.
Oh, good grief, reporter Jesse McKinley: That is not a “blow for animal lovers!” One can love and deeply care for animals and not think they deserve treatment akin to humans
It is a blow to ideologues who think animals and people are moral equals.
It is a blow to those who seek to destroy human exceptionalism.
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Back to the story:
“Unlike human beings, chimpanzees cannot bear any legal duties, submit to societal responsibilities or be held legally accountable for their actions,” wrote Justice Peters, the presiding justice for the Third Judicial Department. “In our view, it is this incapability to bear any legal responsibilities and societal duties that renders it inappropriate to confer upon chimpanzees the legal rights” such as habeas corpus.
Bingo!
These animal rights activists need to pay a stiff price for filing these radical claims. The courts have the power to sanction frivolous lawsuits through financial sanctions. The time has come to impose those penalties now.
Otherwise, they will just keep suing hoping to find that one judge who wants to make history.
LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.
