June 11, 2015

Protesters Block Nassau Street to Protest Peter Singer’s Views

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of protesters gathered on Nassau Street to call for the resignation of Princeton University bioethics professor Peter Singer, whose controversial views about infants born with disabilities were aired in a radio interview this spring

The remarks were made on the radio show “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on April 16. Mr. Singer, who is known as an animal rights advocate, said it is not unreasonable for infants with disabilities to be denied treatment by private insurance companies or the government. Those babies with “zero quality of life” should not be afforded costly care, he said.

Baby dolls were placed in an open coffin in front of the campus. Protesters in wheelchairs stopped traffic on Nassau Street for about 20 minutes, but no arrests were made or summonses issued.

In a letter published on the Trenton Times website Thursday, Alan Holdsworth, a community organizer for the advocacy group ADAPT, requested that the University call for Mr. Singer’s resignation, publicly denounce his comments, hire a bioethicist from the disability community “in a comparable position to provide a platform for views that contrast with Mr. Singer’s views,” and create a disability policy program “to educate future leaders about inclusive communities.”

University spokesman Martin Mbugua issued this statement: “Princeton is strongly committed to ensuring the academic freedom of members of its community and to ensuring that the campus is open to a wide variety of views.”