All Lives Matter — Human or Animal, Born or Foetal. By Dr Chapman Chen
- 14 hours ago
- 2 min read
God is love (1 John 4:8 NIV); God loves the world (John 3:16), including ALL His creation (Psalm 145:9); and Christ is compassion (Matthew 9:13; 12:7). “Thou shalt not kill (Lo tirtzach)!” God commands (Exodus 20:13 KJV). “Lo tirtzach” covers all sentient beings. It covers animals, as “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man...” (Isaiah 66:3); and “The righteous care for the needs of their animals,” (Proverbs 12:10). It also covers foetuses:- “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth...” (Exodus 21:22-25).
That’s why:-
All lives matter.
Human lives matter; animal lives matter, too.
Born lives matter; foetal lives matter, too.
Black lives matter; fair-skinned lives matter, too.
Muslim lives matter; Jewish lives matter, too.
Our position differs from both mainstream camps
1. Difference from many mainstream pro-lifers
Many conservative Christians oppose abortion strongly while still eating animals, supporting animal slaughter, or viewing animals mainly as resources.
We see this as inconsistent because they defend vulnerable unborn humans, yet ignore vulnerable sentient animals.
2. Difference from many secular vegans
Many secular vegans oppose killing animals but support abortion rights based on:
bodily autonomy, feminism, or personhood theories. We see that as inconsistent because they extend compassion to animals, yet exclude unborn human life from protection.
Our ethic is universalised compassion
Our position is that all innocent sentient life deserves protection.
And in our theological framework, both unborn children and animals are creatures of God, both are vulnerable, both depend on stronger beings, both can suffer, and both deserve mercy.
That is why we connect veganism, anti-abortion ethics, nonviolence, and Christian compassion into one unified worldview.
Philosophically, our framework is coherent. Our underlying principles are:
A. God is the giver of life.
B. Innocent life is sacred.
C. Strength does not justify killing.
D. Dependency does not remove moral worth.
E. Sentient beings are not mere property.
F. Compassion should be universal rather than selective.
Those principles fit together logically and spiritually.
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