How Might Corporations' and Nonhuman Animals' Personhood Compare Under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments?

Amer. Med'l Assn. Journal of Ethics, Volume 26, No. 9, Sept. 2024, E690

Pepperdine University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2024/18

7 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2024

See all articles by Richard L. Cupp

Richard L. Cupp

Pepperdine University - Rick J. Caruso School of Law

Date Written: September 09, 2024

Abstract

The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits states from depriving any person "equal protection of the laws," and the Constitution's Fifth Amendment has been interpreted as applying this prohibition to the federal government. This article considers whether constitutional equal protection should apply to some nonhuman animals in light of corporations having gained such protection and concludes that expanding equal protection personhood to nonhuman animals is improbable in the present legal landscape.

Keywords: Fourteenth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Equal protection, Nonhuman animals, Personhood, Corporation, constitutional law

Suggested Citation

Cupp, R.L., How Might Corporations' and Nonhuman Animals' Personhood Compare Under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments? (September 09, 2024). Amer. Med'l Assn. Journal of Ethics, Volume 26, No. 9, Sept. 2024, E690, Pepperdine University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2024/18, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4951146 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4951146

R.L. Cupp (Contact Author)

Pepperdine University - Rick J. Caruso School of Law ( email )

24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
United States
(310) 506-4658 (Phone)

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