Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are 'children' under state law : NPR
The decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child "applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location."
In the 8-1 ruling Judge Parker said: "Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory."
Dissent from Justice Greg Cook said the 1872 law did not define "minor child" and was being stretched from the original intent to cover frozen embryos. "No court — anywhere in the country — has reached the conclusion the main opinion reaches," he wrote, adding the ruling "almost certainly ends the creation of frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama."
