In response to a ruling by the highest court in the US state of Alabama on frozen embryos, the University of Alabama has temporarily suspended its in vitro fertilization (IVF) program. “We are saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempts to have a baby through IVF,” the university said. The court’s decision “that a cryopreserved embryo is a human being” must be evaluated.
The university said it must first consider whether “our patients and our doctors” could be subject to criminal prosecution for standard use of IVF treatments.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is where human eggs are fertilized outside the body and later implanted into a human uterus. It is common to fertilize more eggs than are actually needed. The unused eggs are frozen and can be used, among other things, for a later IVF attempt, for example if a couple wants to have more children. The crux of the matter is that not all eggs survive the sub-zero temperatures. In addition, some are destroyed or used in medical tests – which, according to Alabama law, is murder.
The state Supreme Court made its ruling based on an 1872 law on the wrongful death of minors, ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children.
Three couples sued the clinic after their embryos were accidentally knocked onto the floor and destroyed by a patient. A lower court ruled that the frozen embryos could not be considered “persons” or “children” and dismissed the lawsuit.
The Supreme Court overturned the ruling by seven votes to two, declaring that the more than 150-year-old law applied to “all children, without restriction.” Judge Jay Mitchell wrote in a statement peppered with Bible quotations that the law applies to “all children, born and unborn.” Mitchel also pointed to the near-total ban on abortion in Alabama.
A year and a half ago, the US Supreme Court, which was headed by former US President Donald Trump and was very conservative, overturned the constitutional, nationwide right to abortion that had existed since 1973. Since then, the right to abortion is no longer enshrined in the Constitution and the decision rests with the states. Alabama is one of about two dozen U.S. states where abortions have since been banned or severely restricted.
Sources: DPA, Vox.com
