It is no small victory that the Alabama Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that frozen embryos are unborn babies protected by state law. The majority wrote, “All parties to these cases, like all members of this Court, agree that an unborn child is a genetically unique human being whose life begins at fertilization and ends at death.” What a profound statement by a state Supreme Court.
The nearly unanimous ruling came last Friday in a case involving the death of frozen embryos being held at a fertility clinic. The court ruled the parents of the embryos can sue under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. The opinion stated, “the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.” The court based its ruling partly on the fact that the Act does not make any specific reference to the location of the unborn child killed in a wrongful death case.
A similar case in Arizona many years ago ended differently. An Arizona appeals court in 2005 ruledthe embryos were not “persons” and dismissed the case.
The Alabama ruling rightly sees no difference between an embryo outside the womb and one inside the womb. Both are life and both deserve protection.
Al Mohler provided thoughtful analysis of the ruling, describing the IVF process and challenging us all to consider the critical realities of technology that can satisfy the longing for children, but often not without unanticipated and deadly consequences, “The prevailing medical practice also calls for the transfer of more than one of those embryos into the womb at the same time. This leads to a danger to the embryos, just in terms of their dignity indeed, and with a threat of destruction. Because some of them which are not transferred into the womb ever, they’re basically in a deep freeze, and let’s face it, they’re destined for eventual abandonment and destruction.” Some Christian leaders support IVF as long as all the embryos are carried to term if at all possible. Read or listen to Mohler’s entire critique here.
Pro-life advocates at Live Action made the point that the term “embryo” merely denotes a human stage of development just as “infant,” “toddler,” or “teenager.”
The ruling is already being used by pro-abortion activists to scare voters with threats that the decision will lead to banning birth control or in vitro fertilization, a claim that has no root in reality.
But it is not unlike the fear tactics they use to scare voters into supporting an extreme abortion amendment like the one Arizona voters could face in November. Proponents falsely claim women will not be able to get care for a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy without the amendment. They also tell voters the amendment is necessary to protect access to contraception. These claims are completely false. Arizona law specifically excludes from the definition of abortion miscarriage care, ectopic pregnancy care, and contraception. Women will continue to get care, and Arizonans who want birth control will continue to have access to it – all without the reckless abortion amendment that is being peddled by the abortion industry. You can learn more about the amendment to legalize abortion without limits at ItGoesTooFar.com.
Join Us!
The entire CAP team will be at the March for Life in Phoenix next Friday, March 1st. We will be there for the rally at 11:00 and then march at noon. Click here for more details. Hope to see you there!
CAP – supported bills pass the Senate!
The full Arizona Senate this week passed SB 1511 which requires health care providers and insurance companies that provide so-called “transition treatments” to also provide care and coverage for those who detransition.
The Senate also passed SB 1628, the Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights, which defines the word “sex” as a biological male or female, and helps to protect women’s private spaces.
Both bills passed along party lines by a vote of 16-12-2 on SB 1511, and 16-13-1on SB 1628.
Track the progress of all CAP–supported bills on our bill tracker page here.
ICYMI
- Listen here to my conversation with Chris DeSimone on “Wake up Tucson” about the proposed abortion constitutional amendment.
- Read here how the number of hostile acts toward churches in the U.S. has skyrocketed over the past few years.
- Read here how another male, on a female sports team injures a high school girl, forcing a forfeit. It is the latest in a list of injuries to girls forced to play against boys.
- Watch here a clip from a documentary on the consequences to women when males are housed with female prisoners.