The Individual Characteristics That Make a Difference

The seriousness of taking your life depends not on the race, sex, or species of the being being killed, but on its own individual characteristics. I think most people would accept this when it comes to race and sex, that we don't want to say that someone's life is more valuable just because they're a member of our race. But having pushed that boundary out to include all human beings, which is a good thing, we tend to think that's as far as it should go. The differences between humans and other species are larger than the differences between different races or sexes.