obviously they had a different understanding.
one argument for their perspective is that it emphasizes our connection to the rest of the non-human world, how we are like animals. (for example, if children are not born human, does that make it okay to abort them? why? i know vegans who would say that it doesn't...)
the point isn't to fight it out (your perspective has obviously won in the US, hands down), but to consider what the different ways of looking at things have to offer us.