On Feb. 16, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring that embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) should be considered children, causing the state’s IVF clinics to pause services.
The ruling came after three sets of parents who opted to undergo in-vitro fertilization allege that several frozen embryos in a hospital in Mobile, Alabama were dropped on the floor and destroyed in Dec. 2020, leading to suing for damages. Although a trial court originally dismissed their claims on the grounds that the frozen embryos were not considered to be people, the state Supreme Court reversed that decision, claiming instead that the destruction of the embryos violates the Wrongful Death of a Minor law. According to the ruling, the state Supreme Court claims that embryos are children regardless of whether or not they are found within the uterus, and those who damage them will be held responsible for their death.
FEM Club member and senior Bianca Joaquin speaks on the potential impact that the ruling will have on the future of women’s reproductive freedoms across the country.
“There wasn’t a clear outline of what the purpose of [the Alabama Supreme Court’s verdict] was, so there’s a lot of leeway and wiggle room for interpretation,” Joaquin said. “It’s a danger to reproductive rights for people all across America. Especially with Roe v. Wade being struck down, it really shows how the systems of government that are meant to keep us safe are now attacking people’s bodily autonomy. On a purely legal sense it’s insane but also from a purely personal stance it’s really scary.”
Historically speaking, the verdict represents the first known case in which a US court ruled that frozen embryos must be declared human beings under law. That being said, the ruling does not come without notable legal precedent. Most notably, the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 disrupted nearly 50 years of judicial precedent that gave women across the country the right to access medically secure abortions. Additionally, in 2006, the criminal statute for homicide in the state was changed to include in utero, meaning legislation that defined a person when referring to the victim of a criminal homicide or assault included “a human being, including an unborn child in utero at any stage of development, regardless of viability.”
Since the dawn of the post-Roe era, each individual state has now been granted the authority to determine when life begins and the legality of making anti-abortion pills accessible to public consumption, which affects embryos used for infertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization. IVF is a process through which eggs are fertilized by sperm cells in a lab and the resulting embryos are transferred to one’s uterus in the hopes of assisting with the conception process. Due to these concerns, the Alabama House and Senate have drafted legislation in an effort to protect in vitro fertilization treatments after the court’s ruling, with Alabama state lawmakers introducing a state bill on Feb. 22 that “would provide that any fertilized human egg or human embryo that exists outside of a human uterus is not considered an unborn child or human being for any purpose under state law.”
Joaquin emphasizes the importance of education and collaborative discussion as ways to advocate for such rights, particularly from the perspective of a young person.
“One of the best ways that we as young people can advocate for these rights is educating ourselves about them and talking to one another about them,” Joaquin said. “Because if we have these discussions among ourselves, then we can also communicate with politicians, with medical professionals, with our teachers, and with the adults that have the power in the system to enforce laws that can make a change. Just having that conversation at the student level and reaching out to others as well.”
Meanwhile, the decision has resurfaced the question of when life begins as advocates continue to warn of debilitating effects on infertility treatments. Those opposed to the ruling have introduced the argument that the ruling will dramatically increase liability costs for IVF clinics, making it more difficult for parents struggling with fertility to have children.
After the heavy objections brought on by the ruling, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation into law on Mar. 6 to protect in vitro fertilization providers from the threat of legal liability after the state’s court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children. The bill, which was approved by both the Republican-controlled state House and Senate, now serves to defend providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the damage of an embryo during all IVF services.
