Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on New York City’s ban of foie gras:
The New York City Council has banned the sale of foie gras, saying it involves animal cruelty; ducks are force-fed to ensure fattened livers. It joins California in making the sale illegal.
Carlina Rivera sponsored the legislation in New York. She says her legislation “tackles the most inhumane process”; she also called it “one of the most violent practices.”
In January, she celebrated a new law making New York City the first city to set aside funds strictly for abortion: the money pays for the transportation expenses of women coming to New York from other states to abort their children. She bragged how “This fund is just another signal, another example of how New York State and New York City has to be the leader on this issue.”
Rivera is right. In January, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that allows abortion through term—right up to the moment of birth—while dropping all penalties against a doctor who intentionally allows a baby who survives a botched abortion to die. Cuomo was so happy with the legislation that he ordered the lights of the Freedom Tower to shine brightly over lower Manhattan.
California will not tolerate the sale of foie gras, but it represents more than 15 percent of all abortions in the nation. There is no waiting period, no parental consent, and no requirement that the abortionist be a trained physician.
Here’s a series of questions that deserve a serious response.
Why is it that the cities and states that are champions of animal rights are also the champions of abortion rights?
Why were many Nazi officials animal rights’ advocates? Himmler wanted to ban hunting, and Göring carried out Hitler’s decree to put Germans who violated animal welfare laws into concentration camps. Hitler, who was a vegetarian, planned to ban slaughterhouses following the end of World War II. Meanwhile, they put Jews in ovens.
When it comes to animal rights v. human rights, why do so many liberals in the 21st century have so much in common with Nazis in the 20th century?
No, it doesn’t mean that being an animal rights’ advocate today makes one a Nazi. But there is something eerie about persons like Carlina Rivera who find force-feeding ducks to be “inhumane” and “violent” while heralding a procedure that crushes the head of a baby who is 80 percent born. That kind of mentality is surely Nazi-like.
Contact Rivera: District2@council.nyc.gov
