Media site Vox is worried about embryos feeling pain—the embryos of chickens.
"Scientists believe that chick embryos could potentially feel pain as early as day seven of their 21-day incubation period," a Vox article this week reads. "That means that even with the most advanced in-ovo sexing, male chick embryos could still be experiencing suffering." The article argues that chicks should be spared pain and that hatcheries should develop different techniques in handling eggs.
The coverage stands in contrast to Vox’s past coverage on the embryos of human beings.
Recent Vox articles on abortion are less concerned about the pain human embryos might experience. Titles of articles published in just the last month include: "In Nebraska, abortion rights are safe — for now," "The astonishing radicalism of Florida’s new ban on abortion," and "Republicans want to force doctors to mislead patients about reversing abortions."
The Vox piece argued for the use of technology to determine the sex of a chick as early in the incubation process as possible in order for male chick embryos to be spared the pain of being culled.
The article comes two weeks after the Supreme Court struck down restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone.