A recent ruling in Alabama has emerged from two lawsuits initiated by three pairs of parents. These parents were undergoing an IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) process and made the decision to freeze the embryos that were not immediately utilized in the procedure. These embryos were stored in a fertility clinic’s freezer. In 2020, an unsanctioned patient managed to access the freezer, which housed the unused embryos, through an unsecured entrance. The individual removed the embryos from the freezer, but in doing so, burned his hand due to the freezing temperatures. This resulted in the embryos dropping to the floor and ultimately being destroyed.
Following this incident, the parents took legal action by filing a wrongful death suit. However, the presiding judge ruled that neither the man who caused the incident nor the fertility clinic could be held liable for wrongful death. This is because, according to the law, frozen embryos do not qualify as a “person” or a “child”. In a turn of events on Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court overruled the lower court’s judgment. They ruled that “ectopic children”, which refers to unborn children “who are outside a biological uterus at the time they are killed”, are indeed children. This makes them subject to the law concerning the wrongful death of a minor. Judge Jay Mitchell referenced an 1872 law, stating “The law against the unlawful killing of a minor applies to all unborn children regardless of their location.”
Great concern
Despite the fact that the ruling on Friday does not prohibit in vitro fertilization, it immediately raises significant concerns about the potential impacts on fertility treatments and the practice of freezing embryos. These embryos were previously regarded as property by the courts, not as persons.
The goal of IVF treatment is to create as many high-quality embryos as possible, thereby increasing the chances of pregnancy. Any high-quality embryos that are not used immediately can be frozen for use at a later date. However, once a couple’s desire to have children is fully satisfied, any remaining embryos are either destroyed or donated. The ruling by the Supreme Court now brings this practice into question in Alabama.
Barbara Collura, a representative from Resolve, an organization that provides support for individuals with fertility issues, shared her concerns with AP. “This statement suggests that a fertilized egg, a clump of cells, is considered a person. It truly calls into question the practice of IVF,” she said. “This is a frightening development for anyone who needs IVF.”
Sean Tipton, a representative of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, revealed that at least one fertility clinic in Alabama has already suspended its IVF treatments. The reason for this is the growing fear among clinics of being held accountable for destroying embryos and thereby ‘unlawfully killing minors’.
It is anticipated that ‘pro-life’ organizations in other American states will attempt to use the Alabama ruling as a precedent. This has already occurred in Florida, where Liberty Counsel, a Christian organization that advocates for “the sanctity of human life and the family”, is campaigning for the recognition of frozen embryos as ‘human beings’.
