Issues of non-human life and death

How does NML view animals

• Aquinas adopted Aristotle’s hierachy of the souls - Animals are irrational, so they have no intrinsic value

• According to the divine ordinance, God gave animals and plants for human use

• Only concerns are about the impact on human behaviour and human

Quote for concern about animal cruelty’s imapct on human behaviour (NML)

“might go on to do the same to men”

Quote for God giving animals for human use

‘by a most just ordinance of the Creator, both their life and their death are subject to our use.’ (Augustine)

Catholic Church Quote about animals

“men owe them [animals] kindness”

NML permitt cloning?

• If it preserves innocent life e.g. medical research, drug+ vaccine testing

• Pain inflicted upon animals in the case would be accepted if neccessary

• Consistent with Catholic Church: who accept cloning if it “provides a signifcant benefit for men or other living beings” as long as it repsects animal welfare and avoids unnecessary suffering

NML condemn cloning?

• If it is unnecessarily cruel to the animal- as “may go on to do the same to men”

• If the experiment would change the status of the animal e.g. creating part-human and part-animal speicies

NML: approach to bloodsport

• We do not direct moral duties towards animals 

• no issues with it apart from it may encourage us to act in the same way to humans 

• ‘…might go on to do the same to men.’

• ‘Men owe [animals] kindness’

NML permits Intensive farming

• Aquinas justifies using animals for food; an animal’s right to life is not relevant- animals are for human use

• upholds preserving innocnent life (poverty)

NML against intensive farming

• It is reportedly not uncommon in factory farming for individuals to bludgeon animals to death as a cheaper method of killing them than sending them to a properly registered abattoir

• Basing this on aristotle’s hierarchy of the souls, it can be argued that animals should have some forms of rights. Animals still have some form of purpose; intensively farming animals can avoid them fulfilling that purpose

NML: source for human transplantation

• Not an issue Aquinas would have thought about so difficult to figure out an exact stance 

• Would likely approve of it as humans should use animals anyway they see fit 

• Would disapprove of any attempt to modify human germline as this would be a modification of God’s blueprint for humans at creation

• It is hard to see how an animal that is killed as the result of having its organs removed for xenotransplantation into humans can have a chance of fulfilling the end for which it was created by God, 

• unless it is accepted that this end is to serve human beings.

• “we are opposed to any xenotransplantation which might modify the germline”