Nonhuman Rights Project Analysis

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Ascribing legal “personhood” to species other than Homo sapiens has sparked much discussion about the positive and negative impacts of setting such wavering precedence for future cases governing the treatment of certain species. The Nonhuman Rights Project is a nonprofit organization working towards the expansion and inclusion of specific species in the body of laws that governs life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Providing equal protection of the law to species other than our own has ignited tremendous debate about the constitutionality and repercussions that may arise by setting such precedence. Scholar, interest groups, and many others concerned with other species other than our own are weary that the legal representation of specific …show more content…
According to the Nonhuman Rights Project, the organization is devoted to “change the common law status of at least some nonhuman animals from mere “things,” which lack the capacity to possess any legal right, to “persons,” who possess such fundamental rights as bodily integrity and bodily liberty, and those other legal rights to which evolving standards of mortality, scientific discovery, and human experience entitle them.” The Nonhuman Rights Project has exponentially gained momentum with the various cases that were filed in December 2013, and the continual law suits in 2014 that aimed to provide equal protection of the law to various species who are constantly mistreated and underrepresented. The organization has served as an exemplary example of individuals with a common interest who go above and beyond their scope of work to aid species like great apes, elephants, Orcas, African grey parrots, and other intellectually abled species live long and happy lives without confinement and/or exploitation. Steven Wise, attorney and founder of the Nonhuman Rights Project, strongly advocates for the representation of these species and has repetitively encouraged others to do the same. An entry for the Journal of Evolution and Technology articulates Wise’s work and his finding in various topics that outline his theoretical understandings of the legal community. For instance, “the Nonhuman Rights Project suggests that expanding the moral and legal community to include these animals could initiate a larger break in the species barrier. For nonhuman animals, Wise says, “The passage from thing to person constitutes a legal transubstantiation.” Wise’s inclinations to alterations within the animal community are crucial because his arguments will take precedence and may exclude other species not presented in his