The Alabama Supreme Court earlier this week ruled that frozen embryos are children under state law. In LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, Inc., the Court highlighted that “the Wrongful Death of A Minor Act applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation.” Below is a statement by the ACLU of Alabama in response to this decision:
“One in six people worldwide are impacted by infertility and need in-vitro fertilization (IVF) as an option. The Alabama Supreme Court has grossly overstepped its role by classifying frozen embryos, single-celled fertilized eggs, as children. Justices have crossed a critical boundary to assign personhood to something created in a lab that exists outside of a human body. This ruling has terrifying implications for people in Alabama who are planning to have children and for the fertility clinics that provide necessary services. This ruling endangers the fertility clinics in Alabama that provide IVF, those that have embryos stored, and the future of family planning in our state. Furthermore, this ruling, along with Alabama’s strict ban on abortions, means for many, it is the state, not the person, who can decide whether they can become pregnant.
“Several justices voiced concerns about the opinion and invited the Legislature to fix the problem, including Justice Mendheim who wrote: ‘Ultimately, it is the Legislature that possesses the constitutional authority and responsibility to be the final arbiter concerning whether a frozen embryo is protected by the laws of this state. Without such guidance, I fear that there could be unfortunate consequences stemming from today’s decision that no one intends.’
“The ACLU of Alabama encourages the Legislature to follow the Alabama Supreme Court’s directive and to pass legislation this session that protects fertility care in the state and ensures that families have options.”
Read more on the ACLU of Alabama's gender justice work: https://www.aclualabama.org/en/issues/gender-justice.
