> I don't know how consistent I've ever been, but I can certainly
> join you in endorsing this point of view. Yes, lets make
> chimps legal persons.
There is some inconsistency on the list as a whole, and I have
conflicting toughts on the issue myself. I do not disagree for
a moment that chimps are sentient, self-aware, reasoning beings
whose cognitive differences from humans are matters of degree
and not of kind. But I am hesitant to grant rights to persons
who I cannot at the same time hold responsible for their
actions, and for whom "consent" is an unclear notion at best.
Of course this same argument applies to children as well, and I
would grant children some minimal rights--such as the right not
to be battered or mutilated--that our laws barely recognize now.
And doing so is not without cost: medical research on chimps
has made real differences in all our lives.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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