Alabama establishes fetal personhood after group sues following embryo destructions
Court ruled that legal protections, including those protecting loss of life, begin at conception instead of at birth
Alabama’s Supreme Court recently ruled that embryos can be considered children under state law after six people sued a reproductive medicine clinic following the unintentional destruction of embryos stored cryogenically.
One case revolves around the concerns of IVF parents James and Emily LePage and William and Caroline Fonde, two couples that reside in the state. Another case that was joined in the decision was that of Felicia Burdick-Aysenne and Scott Aysenne, who were in the same situation. All were prospective parents of destroyed Petri dishes that contained embryos. The defendant in the case was The Center for Reproductive Medicine, located in Mobile.
In December 2020, a patient at the Hospital wandered into the Center's fertility clinic through an unsecured doorway and removed several embryos, according to the opinion. The subzero temperatures at which the embryos had been stored freeze-burned the patient's hand, causing the patient to drop it on the floor.
A lower court had ruled that the embryos could not be considered people. They also dismissed the plaintiff’s other complaints of wantonness and negligence.
While the court reasoned in its decision that there was precedent supporting its claim, the Supreme Court and virtually every other within the tradition of English common law have never established fetal or embryonic personhood, which is when legal protections begin.
The center contended in its briefs that ruling against them would make IVF treatments cost-prohibitive, if not impossible. The Supreme Court judges said that would be an issue left to the legislature.
In his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker cites religious texts and the Bible in justifying his views.
According to the Associated Press, several Alabama IVF providers paused treatment following the decision, which will likely be appealed.
Dr. Marina Gvakharia, president of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, said in a news release that scientists and reproductive experts around the globe have long emphasized the critical distinction between fertilized oocytes and fully developed individuals.
Frozen embryos, created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, are a crucial aspect of fertility treatments, offering hope to individuals and couples struggling with infertility. From a scientific perspective, embryos represent a stage in the continuum of human development, but they do not possess the attributes of personhood.
“Recognizing this crucial distinction is paramount to ensuring that legal decisions align with scientific understanding and respect individuals' reproductive rights,” Gvakharia said.
Clinical embryologists are entrusted with assisting patients through IVF, including creating, preserving, and using frozen embryos.
“As individuals responsible for the handling and storage of frozen embryos, embryologists will now face uncertainty, ethical dilemmas, and potentially serious legal ramifications surrounding their day-to-day professional practices, which will make it impossible for them to provide the best evidence-based care to the patients who are so desperately seeking to have children,” Gvakharia said.