The shooting of a silverback gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo made headlines around the world. As a resident of Cincinnati, I’ve enjoyed the zoo on several occasions and am deeply saddened by the loss of this magnificent animal. But zoo officials did the right thing with a nearly impossible situation. These animals are unpredictable and can kill a small child in seconds. While people are right to feel saddened by the death of the gorilla, the small child’s life should have—and did—take priority. When I saw images of the vigils, flowers and stuffed animals in memory of this animal, I wondered aloud whether or not these compassionate people felt the same grief for the daily deaths of three-thousand babies by abortion. Human life is the ultimate life to protect.
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