Alabama Hospitals Stop IVF Procedures After State Supreme Court Rules That Frozen Embryos Are ‘Children’

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos are “children” under state law and therefore subject to legislation dealing with the wrongful death of a minor.

The court issued a majority decision in a lawsuit brought by a group of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients whose frozen embryos were destroyed in December 2020. A patient at the Center for Reproductive Medicine removed the embryos from the storage unit and dropped them on the ground.

In response to the ruling, major Alabama hospitals stopped offering IVF treatments on Wednesday, fearing criminal prosecution.

“We are saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF,” read a statement from the University of Alabama at Birmingham health system.

The plaintiffs filed two lawsuits against the facility alleging that the clinic violated Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, which applies to unborn children.

The plaintiffs also accused the clinic of negligence and sought compensatory damages. However, the clinic’s motion to dismiss the lawsuits was granted by a trial court that ruled a frozen embryo did not fall within the “definition of a ‘person’ or ‘child.'” The court also found that the plaintiffs could not continue seeking compensatory damages, citing long-standing legal standards in the state.

In its decision, the Alabama Supreme Court did not address whether the embryos should be treated as human beings but did find that state law did not clearly define an unborn child.

“The relevant statutory text is clear: the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies on its face to all unborn children, without limitation,” the majority wrote.

The ruling was issued by Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell, with seven out of eight justices concurring.

Alabama Supreme Court Justice Greg Cook issued a dissenting opinion arguing that it is not within the power of the court to “expand the reach of a statute and ‘breathe life’ into it by updating or amending it.”

The ruling is one of many coming out of conservative states limiting reproductive rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. Last year, a Texas court barred the abortion drug mifepristone – that ruling is now being appealed to the Supreme Court. Former Vice President Mike Pence recently said he wants mifepristone pulled from the market immediately.