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Legal Rights for Nonhumans | Forum

Topic location: Forum home » General » Serious discussions
AmeliaCastillo
AmeliaCastillo Apr 25 '15
What is your opinion about the Nonhuman Rights Project advocating legal rights to chimpanzees Hercules and Leo against being held in a laboratory for medical experiments? The group has argued in cases across the U.S. that caged primates should be considered "persons" who have been "unlawfully detained."

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe did not rule that the chimps were persons, but did grant them a writ of habeas corpus. "Only 'legal persons' may have an order to show cause and writ of habeas corpus issued in his or her behalf," boasted the Nonhuman Rights Project "the court has therefore implicitly determined that Hercules and Leo are persons."

But days after the ruling, Jaffe amended it by striking out "writ of habeas corpus".

billyHill Moderator
billyHill Apr 25 '15
Topic was moved from General Chat. Amelia, i moved this topic here to serious discussions because I think it might be one of those hot topics.
The Forum post is edited by billyHill Apr 25 '15
spectrumAU Moderator
spectrumAU Apr 25 '15
I think it depends just how far you take those rights, each case could be different.  I believe animals have a basic right to be cared for, not abused.  Whether that applies in this particular instance I don't know.  There are many animals kept for medical experiments, rats, rabbits, pigs, chimps.  Do we take them all to court?  Do we differentiate between rats and chimps?  


Also the word 'nonhuman' needs to be defined as robots are also nonhuman which opens up an altogether different argument.

AmeliaCastillo
AmeliaCastillo Apr 29 '15
We all know that these laboratories using these creatures as specimen are backed by multinational drug companies before launching a new medicine or product. There could be a possibility that these organization can use these law or privilege to drag the case in court and "milk" these drug companies that will be then added to the cost of the product and shouldered by us the end-users. Because allowing these chimps, for example, to have their day in court of course, these organizations will be the one to represent and finance them.

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