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Frozen Embryos are 'Children' under Alabama State Law



An egg being fertilized by a sperm cell in a petri dish
a medical procedure where an egg is fertilized by sperm in a test tube or elsewhere outside the body.

In an alarming decision, the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can now be considered children under state law, sparking widespread debate and concerns about the future of fertility treatments. The ruling, issued in a pair of wrongful death cases, has drawn criticism from reproductive justice advocates warning of its potential threat to reproductive rights.

The cases involved three couples who lost their frozen embryos in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, asserted that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child applies to all unborn children, irrespective of their developmental stage or physical location.


The decision has raised significant concerns about the future of fertility treatments, particularly in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which could be severely impacted as embryos are now granted legal personhood. Critics argue that this ruling could jeopardize the entire process of IVF, as it opens up a Pandora's box of legal complications regarding the status of frozen embryos. Questions abound regarding the ability to freeze future embryos, the disposition of unused embryos, and the legality of embryo donation or destruction.


The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that resulted in the creation of several embryos, some of which were successfully implanted, leading to healthy births. However, the tragedy struck when a patient trespassed into the storage facility and destroyed several embryos, prompting the couples to pursue wrongful death lawsuits, which the court has now allowed to proceed.


Justice Greg Cook, in his dissenting opinion, warned that stretching the 1872 law to cover frozen embryos goes against its original intent and could effectively spell the end of IVF in Alabama.  In a state known for its conservative stance on these issues, the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling sets a dangerous precedent that could reverberate across the nation, negatively shaping the future landscape of reproductive justice.

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