US state rules frozen embryos are ‘children’ — RT World News
An Alabama court has ruled that lawsuits can proceed over the “wrongful killing” of embryos that were accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic.
The US Supreme Court of Alabama has ruled that frozen embryos created as part of fertility treatments are considered children under state law and are therefore subject to statutes relating to the unlawful killing of a minor child.
In its ruling on Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court said that a state law passed in 1872 allows parents to file a lawsuit over the death of a minor. “It applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.” She also cited anti-abortion terminology in the state constitution as a key element of her ruling.
The decision comes on the heels of wrongful death lawsuits filed against the fertility clinic by a group of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients whose frozen embryos were accidentally destroyed when they fell to the floor at the fertility clinic in December 2020.
“Unborn children are 'children' under this law, without exception based on stage of development, physical location, or other additional characteristics,” Judge Jay Mitchell wrote.
Judge Mitchell said a prior court ruling determined that fetuses killed during pregnancy fall under the terms of Alabama's law for wrongful death of a minor. He added that “outside the womb [outside of a biological uterus] children” They cannot be excluded from the law's coverage.
The decision overturned an earlier ruling by a lower court that dismissed the lawsuits because it said the frozen embryos did not fit the natural definition of a child.
IVF patients who filed wrongful death lawsuits paid to have their embryos cryogenically frozen at an Alabama fertility clinic, according to ABC News. In December 2020, another patient gained access to the storage facility and dropped several embryos on the floor “Kill them,” The referee said.
However, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Greg Cook was the lone dissenting vote on the nine-judge panel. He said that was not within the jurisdiction of the court “Breathe life” In the current law before “Update or modify it.”
Cook added that the language of the 1872 law was not expected to cover more modern developments such as frozen embryos, and said the ruling “It almost certainly ends the creation of frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization in Alabama.”
Pro-choice activists have warned that the Alabama ruling could have national implications amid a campaign by anti-abortion activists to expand the definition of human life.
“This is a natural extension of the path towards fetal identity.” Dana Sussman, of the non-profit Pregnancy Justice, said, according to the Washington Post on Monday. She added that the ruling will be from 'Great concern' To advocates for reproductive rights and abortion care.
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