Alabama Supreme Court Rules Frozen Embryos Are 'Children'

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Facts

• Frozen embryos can be classified as 'children,' the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled, allowing three couples to sue a fertility clinic where their frozen embryos were allegedly destroyed by accident in 2020.¹
• The plaintiffs had paid to keep their embryos, created through in vitro fertilization, frozen at a medical center. However, a patient — who had entered the storage facility and removed several embryos — dropped them on the floor, leading to their death.²
• The plaintiffs had paid to keep their embryos, created through in vitro fertilization, frozen at a medical center. However, a patient — who had entered the storage facility and removed several embryos — dropped them on the floor, leading to their death.³
• The all-Republican court referenced the Alabama constitution's anti-abortion language in its majority ruling that embryos are 'extrauterine children' (i.e. children grown outside of the uterus) and the bereaved parents can sue the clinic under Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.⁴
• Friday's judgment afforded the fertilized eggs the same protection as children and overruled a lower court's decision, which had dismissed the three couples' suit, stating that the frozen embryos could not meet the definition of a child.⁵
• The ruling received national attention, with White House officials framing the ruling in the context of a post-Roe vs. Wade environment.¹

Sources: ¹NPR Online News, ²POLITICO, ³FOX 7 Austin, ⁴Associated Press and ⁵Washington Post.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by POLITICO. The Alabama Supreme Court has read the constitution's wrongful death statute broadly and ensured the comprehensive protection of the rights of unborn children by placing them under the state's responsibility. They have reaffirmed their belief in the sanctity of life, grounded in traditional values.
• Right narrative, as provided by FOX 7 Austin. The Alabama Supreme Court has read the constitution's wrongful death statute broadly and ensured the comprehensive protection of the rights of unborn children by placing them under the state's responsibility. They have reaffirmed their belief in the sanctity of life, grounded in traditional values.
• Left narrative, as provided by Washington Post. This ruling is dangerously theocratic and is now looming over millions of couples looking to become parents through in vitro fertilization. The invocation of 'personhood right' to embryos prioritizes the unborn over biological parents, which is illogical. Even the process of natural reproduction often witnesses embryo loss, making this a bad-faith ruling all around.

Predictions