The Alabama Supreme Court recognized in a ruling issued last week that embryos frozen and stored in the state's fertility clinics should have the same legal rights as any other child.
The ruling also allows, under state law, clinics to be sued on murder charges if embryos in their care are destroyed.
The Alabama Supreme Court made this decision following the ruling on a case that had been brought by three couples in 2021 who had their frozen embryos destroyed in an accident that occurred inside a local fertility clinic. The couples had filed a lawsuit accusing the clinic of negligent homicide of minors.
The Court's judges chose to reverse the decision of a lower court that had rejected the case in 2022, stating at that time that the embryos were not covered by the local law that talks about the homicide of minors, the “Wrongful Death of Minors Law”.
The Supreme Court argued in its decision that the 1872 state law, which regulates the opening of legal proceedings on charges of homicide for the death of minors, extends to all unborn children, regardless of their location.
“Unborn children are children. No exceptions based on stage of development, physical location or any other secondary characteristics,” wrote Justice Jay Mitchell in the Court’s majority decision.
Furthermore, as reported by Associated Press (AP)the judge highlighted that the Alabama Supreme Court had previously interpreted that the law on homicide of minors also extended to children who were victimized during pregnancy and that nothing excludes “extrauterine children” from the coverage of this legislation.
With the decision, the lawsuit filed by the three couples accusing the clinic of manslaughter should be reopened in the state.
#Alabama #Supreme #Court #rules #frozen #embryos #children