On Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court announced that it would not revisit its decision to classify frozen embryos as children under state law.
In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in a controversial case, determining that frozen embryos should be considered children under state law. The decision was met with intense backlash, both at home and abroad. However, in Friday’s decision, the court dismissed a request to reconsider the ruling by a 7-2 majority, according to CBS News.
The ruling initially stemmed from a lawsuit by a trio of couples, all of whom saw their frozen embryos accidentally destroyed at an embryo storage facility. They filed two suits against the Center for Reproductive Medicine, claiming that they were in violation of Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, which they argued “applies to unborn babies.”
Attorneys representing the Center for Reproductive Medicine successfully argued that “a frozen embryo could not fall within the definition of a ‘person’ or ‘child’” in lower courts, but when they reached the high court, the argument was rejected, and the court eventually ruled against them, 7-2, allowing the plaintiffs to pursue wrongful death claims, by classifying the destroyed embryos as “extrauterine children.”
The justices were influenced by their deep Christian faith, referencing scripture several times in their decision. Many Christians across the nation were overjoyed by the ruling.
“[A] holy God views the destruction of His image as an affront to Himself,” wrote Chief Justice Tom Parker, “Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing His glory.”
CBS News added that after the ruling, several Alabama fertility clinics halted in vitro fertilization (IVF) services, regarding concerns that they could similarly face civil action.
State legislature under Gov. Kay Ivey (R) later passed laws to shield medical providers from potential liability regarding IVF treatments, leading most providers to continue services.
“The overwhelming support of SB159 from the Alabama Legislature proves what we have been saying: Alabama works to foster a culture of life, and that certainly includes IVF,” Ivey said in a statement. “I am pleased to sign this important, short-term measure into law so that couples in Alabama hoping and praying to be parents can grow their families through IVF.”
While protections were put in place, “the decision continues to create a cloud of uncertainty for the medical community,” CBS reported.
Dissenting Justice Will Sellers expressed concern about the potential consequences of the original decision, and sought to rehear the case to gather more information.
“The majority opinion on original submission had significant and sweeping implications for individuals who were entirely unassociated with the parties in the case,” he said in a statement, according to CBS. “Many of those individuals had no reason to believe that a legal and routine medical procedure would be delayed, much less denied, as a result of this Court’s opinion.”
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