Moral patienthood

Moral patienthood (also called moral patience, moral patiency, moral status, and moral considerability) is the state of being eligible for moral consideration by a moral agent. In other words, the morality of an action depends at least partly on how it affects those beings that possess moral patienthood, which are called moral patients or morally considerable beings.

Notions of moral patienthood in non-human animals and artificial entities have been academically explored. More detail on the ethical treatment of nonhuman animals, specifically, can be seen at the Animal rights article.