Veterinarian:  A disease of purebred racehorses that is caused by a genetic defect prevents afflicted horses from rac...

Naz June 30, 2014

We are told that some breeders conclude that since the disease has such serious consequences, horses with this defect should not be bred. The veterinarian, however, believes that not breeding them is not the right approach. The veterinarian goes on to explain that the severity of the disease can be controlled through diet and medication and that an effect of the disease is that it actually produces very beautiful racehorses that are in high demand in the horse show industry.

So the veterinarian is basically trying to say that there is a better approach to the disease then not breeding them at all. Not breeding them at all is the same thing as an "absolute ban." Thus, answer choice (B), i.e. "There should be an absolute ban on breeding racehorses that have the genetic defect," is the correct answer.

Hope that was helpful! Please let us know if you have any questions.

irinacionca September 1, 2017

Well, despite the answer here, I have to agree with Shayne on this one. We are taught, not only by this program but by other books and study guides for the LSAT, to watch for extreme language. It is a bit broad to say that here "absolute ban" is the same as "not breeding them at all". Yes, you are right that they both mean the same thing, yet "absolute" introduces this extreme language that we are taught to steer away from in considering answer options. I initially chose "B" myself, then changed my answer to "A" because of this problem. I would say without reserve that here, the answer choice "B" is misleading.

And think about it: do you feel that it is commonly accepted that "No" is the same as "Absolutely No"? - Absolutely not! :P
There is a distinct difference between those two, and it resides in the extreme language, or tone. Frankly, even if I got this one wrong I am considering I got it right because the answer choice is misleading.

rweyer January 23, 2018

Many books and guides do say to watch out for extreme wording, however they do also state that some correct answers may have extreme wording. The way around this one is to look at the wording of the rest of the answer choices. The problem with A is that the vet never spoke about RACING horses, he spoke about breeding them for show. The problem with D is that the vet says in MOST cases and not ALL

Giovanni October 19, 2020

I did the same thing as Irina. "Absolute ban" seemed like extreme language, and so I changed my answer :( Any tips for these kind of questions? Thank you!

AwesomeAli June 24, 2022

I think these answer choices are really odd. I would not consider an 'absolute ban' to be correct at all! Just because something shouldn't be done doesn't mean there should be a ban, and especially not an absolute ban. Just because I shouldn't smoke cigarettes doesn't mean that they should be absolutely banned. I don't understand how that language is correct because it seems like an assumption and not the main point.

Emil-Kunkin June 28, 2022

Hi AwesomeAli,

I agree that the language of an absolute ban is jarring. However, the author is arguing that people who claim that certain horses should not be bred are wrong. That is, she is arguing against those who claim that something should not be allowed to happen- in other words, she is arguing against an outright ban. It is much "weaker" to say "X should not be outright banned" than to say "X should be outright banned." The author is arguing against a bad- meaning that there is at least one case in which they think it should be allowed. Since the author does say there are cases in which breeding should be allowed, we know the author is opposed to an outright ban.