The documentary Blackfish has raised ethical questions about the treatment of whales in captivity at SeaWorld. Following the the release in 2013, PETA has launched multiple ad campaigns talking about the unethical treatment of the whales. There latest shows an incredible disconnect between concern for the treatment of whales, and concern for babies and their mothers.
Claiming that the living conditions of whales is equivalent to a human being forced to live in a bath tub, a pregnant Supermodel Marisa Miller, took a nude photoshoot in a bathtub to raise awareness. In the PETA PSA, Marisa said, “Being a mom and seeing Blackfish, it was extremely emotional. I think any mother knows the sense of protection and connection you have with your baby.”
In a Huffington Post interview, former SeaWorld trainer John Hargrove, had fascinating comments.
“As I became higher-ranked, I saw the devastating effects of captivity on these whales and it just really became a moral and ethical issue. When you first start to see it, you first try to say, ‘OK, well, I love these animals; I’m going to take care of them.’ “¦ You think, ‘I can change things.’ And then all these things, of course, never improve and then you start “¦ seeing mothers separated from their calves; you start seeing trainers being killed, and then they blame [the trainers] for their own deaths.”
The exact same reasoning in these quotes apply to the abortion discussion. If you replace words in these quotes with abortion, they make a powerful case.
“Being a mom and learning about abortion, it was extremely emotional. I think any mother knows the sense of protection and connection you have with your baby.” There is a powerful emotional connection between parents and their child. Marisa recognizes this when she talks of how heartbreaking it would be to have a baby taken away. However, this is what happens every day in abortion clinics.
There is no equivalency between an organization that holds animals in captivity and abortion clinics that are paid to take lives on a daily basis however, the quote from Hargrove is very similar to the awakening abortion workers like Abby Johnson have. Eventually, as one is exposed to more of the emotional reality of the money-making machine an abortion worker is part of, there comes a breaking point.
While we should care that animals are treated well, people should also channel that same moral outrage at the industries that take the lives of helpless babies. As people consider the emotional trauma caused to whales over being separated from their babies, we should also consider the emotional trauma of having a child torn from a mother.
PETA’s efforts to raise awareness about the emotional trauma experienced by whales should remind people of the emotional trauma that the abortion of humans can cause.