Scientists may opine but no special deference ought to be paid to their ethical judgments simply because they are scientists. I agree with you. I'm sure the sc

Scientists may opine but no special deference ought to be paid to their ethical judgments simply because they are scientists. I agree with you. I'm sure the scientists mentioned in the article do as well. Let's not attack each other with straw-men, we'll be here all day. The article never suggested that due to their status as "scientists" they are somehow better equipped to handle ethical issues. The article simply said that they were planning on making ethical arguments related to the legal rights of dolphins, based on their research and their findings. There is nothing wrong with that. As the intelligence level of dolphins is not common knowledge, nor is it even well understood by the scientific community at large, their input on the matter is of importance if only for the purpose of facilitating and informing the discussion of any possible legal rights that dolphins should have.