How many of you pro-lifers out there eat meat?

Question

isn't that extremely hypocritical? i'm not trying to convert anyone, i'm just wondering how you explain that one. after all, the animals actually suffer.

Jane- people who claim to be pro-life say abortion is "murder". however, the babies are not even alive yet and do not suffer but animals that are killed for meat obviously feel pain.

and they may be alive, but they definitely are not well, in most cases.

i am not trying to attack anyone, i just want an explanation, so please don't jump all over me. i just don't understand why people think we're better than animals.

Answer 1

Most people make a major distinction between human life and animal life, as is obvious from some of these answers.

General Chris- Wow, that's interesting. So you think that valuing human life requires de-valuing animal life? I have the capacity to value both, thankuverymuch. I have no need to demote other life forms in order to feel important.

Mustang Sally- I think it's important not to focus on the fact that these animals were raised for that purpose. You could breed a bunch of humans for the purpose of slavery, it wouldn't make it right. So that alone isn't good enough- you're just setting a different standard for animals, as many meat eaters do.

Personally I'm pro-choice and a vegetarian. Not because I value animal life more, but because I think a woman has a right to decide what to do with her zygote when it is a dependent part of her body. But I do not think humans as a species have a right to decide what to do with masses of animals- if people want to go and hunt for food, you could argue it's the food chain, but few people would- the system we have in place is far from what nature intended.

Answer 2

I'm pro-life, and I'm in favour of vegetarianism/ veganism. However, my mom would kill me if I become vegetarian, so I'll just have to wait. :) Not only is it because of all the hormones and antibiotics they put in meat, but how they treat the animals in the slaughterhouses and while they are being raised.Animals should not be needlessly tortured and live under horrible conditions for their entire life. But.... I do believe that human life is much more sacred. I read on a vegan website that pigs were smarter than the average three year old... yet I wouldn't put an animal's life above a human life, regardless of age (that includes the unborn) or intelligence. And I have nothing against meat lovers :)

Answer 3

I am both pro-life and a vegetarian for the same reason -- respect for all that the Creator has placed on this earth. And I really don't understand how you can say that babies aren't alive in the womb and don't suffer.

The opposite of alive is dead, which means that a baby in the womb is either alive or dead. If the baby is alive, s/hehas a nervous system and a brain, which means that they can and undoubtly do feel pain.

Same thing with animals. They have a central nervous system and a brain. How can they *not* suffer when they are slaughtered?

And before someone drags out the sad tired old saw about "Plants are alive, so how can you eat them?" there is no compelling scientific proof that they suffer. They have no central nervous systems and no brains with which to experience pain.

I don't like the idea of causing pain to any sentient creature, especially when there is absolutely no reason to.

Answer 4

The first two answers above accurately depict the two most common views you will find - apathy and ignorance, respectively. The first simply doesn't care about the animal or its suffering. To such a person, an animal is just a big moving mass of meat. The second lives in a fantasy world where the cows enjoy a happy life on some picturesque pasture. Nothing could be further from the truth.

General Chris,

Rather than looking at it as "degrading human life", I look at it as "upgrading the status of animals".

Answer 5

Don't forget how many of them relish veal and prefer fertilized eggs for breakfast! I grew up in Southern Baptist country and always wondered about that (they'd come our family farms looking for both).

Totally off the subject of food (but on the topic of hypocrisy) have you noticed that they are anti-contraception and do NOT support research towards fetal transplants so they can prevent the death of the fetus? Want to have some *real* fun with them? Even us menfolk are capable of carrying a baby that way(but if you please I want a C-section). They scream that life begins at conception but get violent when you show them the evidence that (on average) only 1 out of 5 fertilized human eggs lasts more than 2 days-in other words g_d is aborting 80% of the babies? And why don't they show more support for WIC? They sure don't adopt many orphans or show up on the wrong side of the tracks to help with the kids either.
Hmm, something tells me it's past my bedtime!

Answer 6

Well I don't want to repeat a lot of what's been said but I do want to point out that I've had a lot of Christians try to support eating meat with Bible verses and they lack the knowledge that Daniel (one of the most prominent men in the bible) ate no meat for 10 days and was found to be much better looking than those that ate meat!

As usual, the Bible can't be taken out of context to support an individual or a groups way of thinking.

Answer 7

I agree, Jane! I'm so pro-life I'm vegan!!! It's a long uphill road convincing others though. They immediately assume if you're veggie you're liberal. Sigh...

I don't understand how one refuses to eat an egg because it's chicken murder but abortion is ok.

Answer 8

Are you pro-life? I don't understand how any vegetarians can support abortion. Now, that's hypocritical.

And Princess, aborted bubbas are generally well past the zygote stage. Many of them have fingers, toes, little moving limbs, heartbeats, and a nervous system. Some can hear noises outside the womb, they pee and burp and hiccup. Abortion is not a compassionate, gentle operation, the baby's body is torn apart limb from limb. Maybe your face cream even contains an aborted baby's collagen and elastin. Don't believe me? It's a big business. Cosmetic companies even use ingredients obtained from foreskin of the penis of little boys circumcisons. Hard to believe, you bet. But it happens. Abortion is a business, and women AND their babies are the victims.

Answer 9

Oh for crying out loud.....

Look I care about people first and foremost. Born or unborn.

This is not hypocrisy. Although I find it interesting how many pro-choicers there are that are OK with abortion. It's NOT ok to kill an animal to eat it, but it's OK to kill a person because it is inconvenient.

Answer 10

I think you're asking the question sincerely, and I understand your point.

However, as someone who is pro-life, I cannot equate the value of a human life with that of an animal. It isn't the same. We degrade human life when we cannot see that distinction.

I don't know if you have a faith. I'm not trying to impose mine, but to explain: as a Christian, the Bible allows the eating of animal meat, but is very clear that human life begins before birth. There are references to this in the Psalms, and certainly when it refers to John the Baptist leaping in his mother's womb, as the Holy Spirit moved him.

So, that's my perspective. Good question.