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“Save the Horse” and “Kill the Baby”

When Animal Life is Valued Over Human Life

Rebekah L. Holt

“Hear the word of the Lord…for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.” Hosea 4:1

In our world today, many times we find the rights of animals take precedence over those of humans. As illustrated by New York City’s newly elected mayor—people can have no problem working hard to strengthen America’s abortion industry in the name of “human rights”. They choose to deny that a human being’s life is extinguished—killed—through abortion. Yet, these same people can work hard to try to eliminate what they term as inhumanity to animals.  

An Example of when Animal Life is Valued over Human Life

NYC’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has pledged to end horse drawn carriages in Central Park. "The new mayor is ready to jump start New York by seeking to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, but it is not certain whether he will put this issue ahead of his plans to expand the nGeorge Stubbs 003George Stubbsumber of abortion centers."1

Bill de Blasio is quoted, "We are going to quickly and aggressively move to make horse carriages no longer a part of the landscape in New York City," de Blasio said. "They are not humane. They are not appropriate to the year 2014. It's over." 2

This same mayor-elect expressed that New York City, known as “the abortion capital of the world,” is “underserved” in terms of abortion clinics.3 Bill de Blasio’s website says that he will continue to work toward overturning local NYC laws that will prevent “sham crisis pregnancy centers… from masquerading as legitimate healthcare providers.”4

 

An Opposing Opinion

In a CBS interview, a veterinarian dedicated to the welfare of animal life and who has voluntarily inspected the carriage horses, responded:

"I didn't see a single horse that didn't show all the signs that we associate with contentment," said Warner, former chairman of American Association of Equine Practitioners'  (AAEP) Equine Welfare Committee, in an interview, adding that, like people, there are horses that don't have the right temperament to live in the city.  "No it's not too much stress. ... There are horses who don't want to be a race horse. There are horses that don't want to chase cattle."

Werner, who has 40 years experience and a practice in North Granby, Conn., said none of the veterinarians who took part in the inspections received any compensation from the carriage operators and paid their own expenses.5

Respecting Animal Life is God’s IdeaFranz Adam - The Stable LadFranz Adam - The Stable Lad

“A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Prov. 12:10

Animal life should be respected under the care of God’s stewardship mandate in Genesis 1:26-31. As humans, we are accountable to our Creator to properly manage the animal kingdom.

Apart from scripture, there is no foundation for why humans should even care to manage, conserve, oversee, treat animals well or work to end real animal cruelty or neglect.   By secular reasoning—we are just animals too contending for survival in a harsh world and living a meaningless existence with no eternity—dog eat dog, tooth and claw.

A False Idea Creates a Greater Crime

"What you believe to be acceptable determines how you think. How you think dictates what you do, and what you do will ultimately dominate your life. Not only do ideas have consequences, but the actions those ideas generate have real and often very demanding consequences."6

When animal life is elevated above the value of humans, this actually often leads to an increase in animal cruelty. An example of this is 2007’s federal rulings to abolish horse slaughter for the purposes of meat export. Since this legislation in 2007, our country has seen a tremendous rise in horse neglect, starvation, abuse, and abandonment cases.   The American Veterinarian Medical Association states: “The reality is, proponents of this legislation have done nothing to address the real issue here, and, in fact, by seeking to ban horse slaughter, they have made things significantly worse.7

Autumnandbuttons 449 x 600Photo by Rebekah L. HoltEach Human is a Life—Not an Inconvenient, Biological Glob of Tissue

Regardless if a child is defined—by a human, a parent, a politician, a circumstance, a tragedy, a law, a city ordinance, a business, an insurance company, or a person with medical or scientific training—as wanted or unwanted, inconvenient or convenient, living or non-living, fetus or baby—the life of a human being remains of more importance over all animal or biological life from the very moment of conception.

Why? God Created Mankind in His Image (Genesis 1:26, 27; 2:7). By so doing, He purposefully gave life to each person as a unique, specific, special individual. God's image gave humans their spirituality—a reality that we cannot fully grasp and that is not shared by the animal kind. This is the basis for humans being classified beyond a biological description of just mere tissue or a “clump of cells” that only miraculously becomes fully human after being accepted by his or her biological mother.

The exertions of abortion advocates can gain a following by chanting a deception. Yet, their efforts can suppress only for a season but never succeed in destroying the truth. "The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is" (Winston Churchill).

Scripture declares, they are without excuse and are willfully ignorant (Romans 1:18-15). God has written His law on the hearts, the conscience of each person—everyone can come to knowledge of what is right.  For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,  who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.” Romans 2:14-15

Empirical scientific evidence exposes that indeed the truth is suppressed, ignored and redefined by human reasoning that shifts with the demand. There is every REASON—educationally, scientifically, morally and consciously—to believe that human life begins at conception and that the growing child inside a womb is indeed a living human. Research continues to illustrate that the human body is a refined masterpiece of complex systems all working together to keep you alive. A human's ability to have an intellect is a marvel that cannot be reduced to full comprehension—no other "being" on earth is an equal. There is every technological advancement available in our generation to illustrate with 3D and 4D imagery that there is an alive person developing for a few short months in utero to live a lifetime on earth.

It can be rejected. Human life can be extinguished by both ignorance and knowledge. However, the very basis of all human codes or laws is recognizing that human life should be honored and to end it is an inexcusable crime.

The Bottom Line

1) While reform may be necessary in tactics or methods of animal care and handling—everything suffers when we stray from upholding the value system of what God has established. God gave animals to enhance our lives and to be useful to us. We have a responsibility to treat livestock with good stewardship. God gave man dominion over animals from the very beginning. Horses were not originally wild in God’s perfect world—they were already domesticated! The fear of man came later in Genesis 9 after Noah’s flood.  Horses—like other animals—were to be partakers in our lives, to benefit the earth and provide us a job in carefully tending to these gifts made for His and our pleasure. What an opposing view to PETA’s statement: “In a perfect world, horses would be free to pursue their own lives without human interference… Domestication has certainly not benefited horses, as they’ve long been exploited as beasts of burden and are kept constantly constrained and only allowed to move about at the will of others.”8 Obviously—God does not agree with PETA. It was good enough for the Creator to use a donkey as a “beast of burden” on His ride down the streets of Jerusalem.

2) Humans are created in the image of God. Mankind is qualitatively different from animal life. Christ’s very blood was shed that we might be redeemed. He was not crucified for horses, a pet poodle or Tommy the Chimpanzee.

3) Abortion kills a living person. Just a few short months in the womb prepares a person to live a lifetime. According to Canadian doctor, “The biological fact is what counts here, which is when the ovum and the sperm unite, a single-celled human organism is formed. Period. This organism is a human being, a person at the single-cell stage. From that point in time he or she has rights. Anybody who denies that fact is denying biological reality; they are lying.”9

crazycampkidsPhoto by Rebekah L. Holt

A Call to Arms—Please Choose Life

Abortion should never become just a fact of life--something that we're apathetically comfortable with in America!

January 22, 2014 marks the 41st anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, legalizing abortion on demand in the United States of America. It is estimated that nearly 56 million Americans are M-I-L—Missing-in-Life.

Let Us Stand Up and Cheer for the Gift of Human Life! Do not brush this off as someone else’s work. Do what you can. Support Pro-life legislatures, judges, lobbyists and organizations. Find local Pro-life grassroots efforts to get involved with. Get a bumper sticker! Do something! If you are breathing—then you have something to give to help in some way.     This is not too controversial a topic to stand up for. This is worth supporting because every life is worth living. Just think--you might be able to save a life. One would be worth it.

 

Art:

Carriage - George Stubbs

Stable Hand - Franz Adams 

 

References:

1. “Horses Win Over Babies in NYC,” http://www.catholicleague.org/horses-win-babies-nyc/, 1/2/14

2. “De Blasio Vows to End Horse-Drawn Carriages in Central Park”, http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/horse-carriages-deblasio-central-park--238097501.html, 1/2/14

3. Kirsten Andersen, “NYC Mayor Elect Bill de Blasio Pledges to Open More Abortion Clinics and Close “Sham” Pregnancy Centers”, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/nyc-mayor-elect-bill-de-blasio-pledges-to-open-more-abortion-clinics-close?, 1/2/14

4. Bill de Blasio, http://www.billdeblasio.com/issues/standing-with-women, 1/2/14

5. Jonathan Berr,“Banning horse-drawn carriages an early focus for New York's new mayor”, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/banning-horse-drawn-carriages-an-early-focus-for-new-yorks-new-mayor/, 1/22/14

6. Henry M. Morris, III, D. Min., Your Origins Matter, Institute of Creation Research, 2013, pg. 16

7. Rebekah Holt, "Animal Souls, Slaughter and the Bible", 1/30/14

8.People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/how-does-peta-feel-about-horseback-riding/#ixzz2r9W9fCV9, 1/22/14

9. Peter Baklinski, “Canadian Medical Association: babies not human until after birth” http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canadian-medical-association-babies-not-human-till-after-birth, 1/22/14