Group Weighs In on Abortion Debate With Pro-Vegan Billboard
For Immediate Release:
August 6, 2012
Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382
Phoenix -- With the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granting a preliminary injunction last Wednesday that blocks implementation of Arizona's new law that bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, PETA wants to give parties on both sides of the debate some food for thought. That's why the group is currently negotiating with Phoenix-area outdoor advertisers to display a billboard that shows an innocent, curious baby chick and reads, "Killed at 7 Weeks. Choose Life: Go Vegan." PETA's point? Proponents of the new law cited evidence that fetuses can allegedly feel pain at 20 weeks. PETA wants all Arizonans to know that the chickens killed for buckets and boxes are sentient beings who definitely feel pain—and are sent to a terrifying death in a slaughterhouse when they are 6 to 7 weeks old.
"We all hold the power to save a life or take a life every time we choose what to eat," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We are asking people to try to relate to who's on that plate and to choose life by eating vegetarian or vegan meals."
On average, turkeys used for food are only 6 months old when their throats are cut. The average age at which pigs are killed and dismembered—often while they're still conscious—is only 6 months. Calves used for veal—who are traumatically torn away from their mothers within hours of birth—are dragged from their veal crates and killed when they are just 20 to 22 weeks old.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
