Are rats more important than humans? That’s the question prompted by a pair of recent tweets from California Rep. Ted Lieu, who called rat traps “inhumane” just hours before tweeting his support for abortion. Live Action took to the streets to ask people their reaction to Lieu’s statements, and the scenario gave pause to many people who consider themselves “pro-choice” on abortion.
When asked how they felt about rats, most people interviewed immediately responded that they didn’t view them favorably.
“I hate them,” said one woman. “Gross,” added a man.
Interviewees were then presented with Lieu’s tweets and asked their thoughts.
“Is that a little inconsistent of him to say it is inhumane to use glue traps on rats, but when it comes to abortion you can starve a baby in the womb or dismember it and pull it out?” asked the Live Action interviewer. “Aren’t humans just a little bit more valuable than rodents?”
The prompting of this question gave mixed results.
“They’re both living things,” pointed out one woman. “So I feel like you should have the same viewpoints on both, either they’re both inhumane or they’re both fine.”
Other interviewees were clearly uncomfortable as they were asked to reconcile their pro-abortion viewpoints with the rat-trap analogy.
“Um, one thing doesn’t have to do with the other,” said a woman.
Another woman stumbled over the answer. “In some cases, it [abortion] really is an option, that I think has to be done… um, I really struggle with that,” she admitted.
Another woman said, “I’m not expressing an opinion either way on what my preference is on abortion, but when you put it that way, yeah, what is more important, human life or the life of a rat?”
One woman expressed the point succinctly: “So you’re saying he’s pro-life for animals, but not people?” But she goes on to admit that she’s ‘pro-choice’ and says she has no clear opinion on abortion.
Abortion is the direct and intentional homicide of an innocent preborn human. During the process, that preborn child is either deprived of nutrients, torn apart in the womb, or poisoned to death.
Lieu isn’t alone in his hypocritical thinking — many people are willing to stand behind animal rights while supporting abortion for human beings, oftentimes because they are unaware of what abortion actually does to the baby.
As these interviews show, spreading the truth about the atrocity of abortion is vital in the fight for preborn lives.
