Is Personhood an Animal Right or Human Privilege?

December 17, 2014

(ABC.net) – You’re a human and so you’re a person—case closed. Tommy is a chimpanzee and there is nothing more to say. Last week the Supreme Court Appellate Division in upstate New York rejected a bid to extend legal personhood to chimpanzees. It’s the first case of its kind, and you can bet it won’t be the last. At its core is the precious term ‘person’, a concept parsimoniously clutched close to the human breast. However, could we be forced to release our grip? Or is it nonsensical to even ask the question?