Spain is considering granting special protection to apes while ignoring the human rights of aborted unborn babies.
A proposed law drafted by Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights would grant extra protections to chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. Following the 2022 Animal Welfare Act, experimentation on apes that causes harm would be restricted because of their “genetic closeness” to human beings.
The proposal cited the claims of bioethicist Joseph Fletcher who established 15 criteria defining “humanhood”, which is now applied to apes by the Spanish government.
The Ministry said its decision “puts these beings on the same level as our ancestors” and recognises apes’ “cognitive abilities such as learning, communication and complex reasoning that bring them close to those of human beings”.
Meanwhile, Spain permits abortion on demand up to 14 weeks gestation, or up to 22 weeks if the baby has a severe defect or if the mother’s life is at risk.
In 2022, a US federal judge recognised hippos as juridic persons after an attempt to cull hippopotamuses that belonged to the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Last year, Lewes District Council approved a motion granting the River Ouse legal protections, set to be enshrined in a charter of rights. The proposal was inspired by the Universal Declaration of River Rights, which states that rivers are “natural beings” that have “at minimum, the fundamental rights to exist, thrive, and evolve”.
252,122 unborn babies were aborted in 2022 in England and Wales, the highest number ever recorded.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “While animals and the environment merit protection, the trend towards granting personhood and rights to apes and rivers highlights even more the glaring double standard that sees millions of unborn babies aborted every year.
“The indifference towards the humanity of the unborn is the great shame of our time. While apes might be genetically close to humans, a child in the womb IS human from the very moment of conception, yet they have less protections than many animals.”
Similar stories
Will someone please think of the unborn chicks!
Which UK river has more rights than unborn babies?
Hippos are “people” but the unborn are NOT, US judge rules