Alabama Supreme court rules embryos are children

[Comshaw]

Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are ‘children’ under state law

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments can be considered children under state law.

The decision, issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic, brought a rush of warnings from advocates who said it would have sweeping implications for fertility treatments.

Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled Friday 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.”


“Unborn children are ‘children’ under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in the majority ruling.

FFS

Comshaw

 

[RoryN]

They have a Supreme Court?

Are we sure it isn't actually a jug band instead?

 

[Bray123]

 

[adrina]

The judgment issued centers around a freaking Bible verse. Jeremiah. An OT verse at that.

Who wants a Christian government?

 

[Bn2f]

Exodus 21:22-25: “When people […] injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined […]. If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life.”​

Am I reading, interpreting this wrong?
God’s so called word from the Bible that they read in Alabama indicates that I can strike a woman enough to cause a miscarriage and be subject to a fine. A fine! A monetary penalty. But… If I continue on causing further harm, which I would imagine to be enough for the woman not to be able to further bare children or cause her death, then I must die.

Hmmmmmmm. It would seem that the Bible places both moral and legal onus on the life, health and safety of the woman, female mother rather than that of the unborn.

 

[adrina]

“We believe that each human being, from the moment of conception, is made in the image of God, created by Him to reflect His likeness. It is as if the People of Alabama took what was spoken of the prophet Jeremiah and applied it to every unborn person in this state: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, Before you were born I sanctified you.’ Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV 1982),” the opinion read.

https://newrepublic.com/post/179122/alabama-supreme-court-bible-embryo-ruling-ivf

 

[Bn2f]

https://newrepublic.com/post/179122/alabama-supreme-court-bible-embryo-ruling-ivf

I mean, most of these decisions would be laughable if they weren’t real and harmful.

 

[Pad_Foot]

Hurry up and get to “Every sperm is Sacred”

 

[jomar]

Well, since corporations are persons I suppose it was only a matter of time

 

[RobDownSouth]

Hurry up and get to “Every sperm is Sacred”

You laugh, but this is part of the Alabama court system's "long game"
The end stage is to re-criminalize fellatio as "cannibalism".

 

[Pad_Foot]

They are also coming for drugs that ease AIDS.

 

[Comshaw]

They are also coming for drugs that ease AIDS.

AIDS is God's judgment on the wicked don't cha' know.

Comshaw

 

[butters]

it causes a huge mess when it comes to 'excess' embryos... as many as 15 created at a time.

The Alabama populace in need of IVF treatment is now most likely to lose its access to it in their home state. The providers will almost certainly up sticks and move to a state where they can offer the service without fear of radical law impositions, threats/fines/imprisonment.

It also highlights the need for a universal set of working protocols to be put in place, recognised by all states permitting the treatments/preservation of embryonic tissue.

During in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, embryos of the highest implantation potential are included in the embryo transfer or cryopreservation process. Studies show that the optimal number of oocytes retrieved per cycle is 15 [1]; subsequently, supernumerary embryos are expected. The decision-making process regarding the fate of these embryos is considered to be the most challenging and crucial step during the entire IVF process [2]. From morphology grading to the emergence of prediction models [3], and the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) [4, 5], the evolution of all these trends serves the era of personalized medicine by strengthening the practice of elective single embryo transfer (eSET) [6]. A byproduct of the eSET practice is surplus embryos [7].

few parents actually want to give birth to 15 babies.

Depending on their quality, the legal framework, the patients’ will, and the respective family planning status, surplus embryos may be subjected to certain options. Common practice dictates that good-quality embryos may be cryopreserved for future IVF cycles employing a frozen-thaw protocol [8].

which leaves the lesser quality embryonic tissue almost certainly discarded.

With regard to cryopreserved stored embryos, in the case that it is decided that no further fertility treatments will be pursued, couples are faced with the challenging decision regarding disposition of their frozen embryos also known as “embryo disposal decision” (EDD) [9]. A successful attempt in childbearing most commonly signals the designation of cryopreserved embryos as surplus material. Surplus cryopreserved embryos that are stored during the process of assisted reproduction are not always reclaimed by the patients. In Sweden, 30% of couples during a 3-year period did not use their cryopreserved embryos in a subsequent cycle [10], and similar reports are documented in France [11, 12] and Denmark [13]. Interestingly, there is the matter of “abandoned embryos” in storage; this term refers to cases where the couple/person cannot be reached and/or fails to provide the clinic with a decision pertaining to the embryos’ fate [14]. The safekeeping of abandoned embryos raises ethical and bureaucratic challenges for IVF clinics worldwide as published reports indicate that frozen embryos in storage have reached numbers in the range of 52,000 (UK, 1996), 71,000 (Australia, 2000), and 400,000 (USA, 2003) [15, 16]. To address the prospect of unclaimed embryos, many clinics ask couples to make dispositional decisions prior to initiating IVF treatment.

so would Alabama insist on the 'parents' paying for the continuing preservation of their embryos? would the state pay for their continued freezing? Would it place into law that only ONE or TWO oocytes be retrieved at each round of treatment and that all HAVE to be implanted or their frozen upkeep paid for? As I said, it's a mess and can only result in fewer births for Alabama residents desperate to carry their own pregnancy and birth their own children. Will Alabama go on to ban travel to another state to receive IVF treatment cycles? Easier for the Alabama facilities to close shop and move to another, more enlightened state.

Good-quality embryos may be donated to a research program especially in light of the most recent stem cell studies [17]. Additionally, the embryos may be donated to other couples facing infertility to known or anonymous persons [14]. Donating embryos to research or to a third-party experiencing infertility, or discarding consist of the three main options available in cases of fresh or cryopreserved embryos.

the donation may mean a few more children born, but i would assume it's not an impactful number. Although those receiving donated embryos would, no doubt, be massively grateful, there's probably work going on in the benighted state to prevent that as an option, too.

Poor-quality embryos that fail to qualify for embryo transfer or cryopreservation, as well as embryos subjected to preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) cycles diagnosed with a genetic or chromosome abnormality, are typically discarded. Interestingly, IVF professionals in countries such as USA where neither sex selection nor access to PGT is regulated also provide the option for “social sexing” leading to the subsequent disposal of healthy embryos [18].

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6911130/

 

[DeluxAuto]

 

[TastySuckToy]

That's definitely one of the stupidest rulings I've ever read about.

 

[DeluxAuto]

That's definitely one of the stupidest rulings I've ever read about.

Just wait till you hear that repubs passed a bill forcing children to birth their own siblings.

 

[TastySuckToy]

Just wait till you hear that repubs passed a bill forcing children to birth their own siblings.

My expectation of government incompetence, corruption and stupidity knows no bounds.

 

[DeluxAuto]

My expectation of government incompetence, corruption and stupidity knows no bounds.

You can't say that and then support a stupidly incompetent racist traitor.

 

[crazychemgirl]

Wow… Alabama people really ARE as stupid as the world believes they are.

 

[DeluxAuto]

Wow… Alabama people really ARE as stupid as the world believes they are.

It's a red trump state so yeah.

 

[Fuzzy1975]

You can't say that and then support a stupidly incompetent racist traitor.

Oh but he can, since perception of corruption,stupidity and incompetence is relative to one's point of view. We can call it Fuzzy's theory of RWCJ Relativity ( sorry Albert).

 

[LLCox]

Hurry up and get to “Every sperm is Sacred”

I would be a mass murderer bigger than Pol Pot.

 

[TastySuckToy]

You can't say that and then support a stupidly incompetent racist traitor.

I don't.

 

[Pad_Foot]

More likely ? They put a tracker on every egg a woman has and then they seek proof that it wasn’t fertilized

We’re getting to “Handmaid’s Tale” sooner than we thought

 

[RoryN]

Georgia: We're trying to elevate ourselves, but we're still making the South look bad.

Florida: Hold my beer.

Mississippi: Hold MY beer, yew dumbass.

Alabama: Y'ALL BOTH HOLD MY BEERS