A Response to Laura

Laura asked the question, "Do you think that people that are unable to speak don't have rights?"

The answer is that they do. People who cannot speak still have rights because of the fact that they are humans. Humans have more rights (or more substantial rights) than animals, despite the attempts to change that. This means that humans who are sick, blind, deaf, dumb, senile, in a coma, or with any other affliction you could possibly imagine, have rights. Why? The answer simply is because they are human. Humans grant other humans rights, and any human is then protected by that umbrella. In fact, in some cases, having a certain affliction could possibly grant a human more rights if something is done to them. Has anyone ever noticed that a person with a disability who has been wronged is advocated for more and covered more in the news? (Or is this just my perception? Of course, this is not right or wrong. It is only an observation.) It is because they are unique in a way that most other humans are not.

The question is then, what about animals? Why can't animals have the same rights that we as humans do? What is causing the big debate over animal ethics and animal rights? I was going to go on from there, but I think that's a good question to leave everyone with.