I was going to lay off Paul Ryan for a while, until I read his statement in an interview with a Pennsylvania news station: “I stand by my pro-life record in Congress. It’s something I’m proud of.” I just find it anomalous that a diehard bowhunter claims to be “pro-life.” Either he’s lying about championing life, or he doesn’t understand that humans aren’t the only animals imbued with it.

Since his congressional record leaves no doubt about his militantly “pro-life,” right-wing, anti-abortion stance (he opposes the procedure even in cases of rape or incest), it must be that he considers only human life worthy of the L-word. Apparently all others don’t measure up to the status of having life, in his opinion. It may come as a shock to someone so used to depersonalizing and objectifying certain beings while pursuing their favorite lethal hobby, but whether human or non-human, all life is life.

When I think of the term “pro-life,” I think of pro-wildlife (and therefore, anti-hunting); pro-animal life (humans being animals, they’re included here); pro-animate life; pro-the-living. But I fail to see how a human ovum fertilized through an act of incest or violence rates higher than a fully aware, fully functioning adult deer, elk or turkey.

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson