On Demand, Jura nostra defended that butchered Latin for we dare defend our rights. That phrase also happens to be Alabama state motto and the cotton state appears to be busy defending the rights of human embryos that would be a sperm fertilized egg. According to eight of the nine justices on Alabama Supreme Court, frozen embryos created and stored for in vitro fertilization are children under state law. That’s an interesting ruling coming from a state that kept a variation of the one drop rule on its books until 2000. But facts aside, this ruling by Bamas High Court is not just problematic, but a painstaking violation of science, democracy and basic logic. Let’s get into the facts. An embryo is not a child. How do we know that?
Well, one is flash frozen like a premium cut of ahi tuna and the other is an inquisitive terrorist that talks back. You can’t put a living breathing human being in a freezer and expect them to be alive when you return. You can however, put an embryo and a Maytag drown it in Valvoline anti freeze type fluids and CPS will not bat an eye because an embryo is nothing more than a bunch of cells. They are not human beings. But that is not what Alabama’s High Court would have you believe Oh, no. Science be damned because there’s a higher authority apparently that’s operating down south. And his portion of the opinion Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote that human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God who views the destruction of his image as an affront to himself. Well, Justice Barker was aggressive with the pronouns there, and the nonsense and I get that Alabama wasn’t big on being part of the United States some 160 years ago. But the last time I checked, we were not supposed to be a blatant Christian theocracy. There was supposed to be this whole separation of church and state. So science should be the determinant factor here in the court decisions, not self serving deities envisioned by man and bolstered by folklore. As Americans we are entitled to a separation of church and state. Breaking away from King Henry’s church was the reason the Founding Fathers set up genocidal shop here to begin with. In fact, the First Amendment opens with Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, being free from someone’s religious persecution and ideology is the purported foundational tenant of our nation yet Alabama gets to throw that all aside to make embryos human beings. And that’s not only hypocritical in terms of the whole US Constitution thing, but it’s also just logically foolish.
Does this mean child support starts at fertilization can Alabamans claim frozen embryos on their taxes? Does a pregnant woman in Birmingham carpool lane get a pass? Or maybe must a miscarriage at 10 weeks mandate a police report? Where does it end helped me out? Claiming embryos or children is as much great a foolishness as Kobe is great a beef it makes no sense. This ruling forces IVF clinics to shutter their doors, it forces prospective parents in Alabama to seek opportunity elsewhere. It also makes family planning for single woman and queer people far harder. Yet it’s what our nation seems to be allowing at least down in Alabama, and no shade to Bama, although I don’t think it should be talking about protecting human life when it ranks 45th overall and child well being 47 than education 45th and health care. And last year following the reversal of Roe v Wade didn’t eliminate all exceptions for abortion. Yeah. So now calling a cluster of cells stored in anti-freeze Children seems to be on the struggle bus just as the state has been for a long time. Labeling embryos as children isn’t the doing of a democracy. In fact, it’s the undoing of one.
Related
Adrienne Lawrence
Legal analyst, law professor & award-winning author
View Video LibraryCommentary
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
‘The worst it’s ever been’: Young Americans on democracy
21 hrs ago
Dr. Frank Luntz
How to handle plunging US birth rate before it’s too late
21 hrs ago
Peter Zeihan
Japan must confront reality of military threats
Yesterday
Peter Zeihan
US may need to find new sources of uranium
Tuesday
Peter Zeihan
Alabama IVF ruling exposes shocking hypocrisy
Feb 28
By Straight Arrow News
On Feb. 16, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling asserting that embryos produced through in vitro fertilization (IVF) should now be legally recognized as children. This decision has prompted numerous IVF clinics in the state to temporarily suspend their services, sparking concerns among medical professionals and patients. Additionally, some Republican lawmakers are finding themselves in a delicate position as they navigate between their anti-abortion base and the broader American public.
Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence adds her voice to the critics of the ruling, highlighting what she sees as blatant hypocrisy, and argues that the ruling is unconstitutional.
Does this mean child support starts at fertilization? Can Alabamans claim frozen embryos on their taxes? Does a pregnant woman in a Birmingham carpool lane get a pass? Or maybe must a miscarriage at 10 weeks mandate a police report? Where does it end? Help me out. Claiming embryos are children is as much Grade-A foolishness as Kobe is Grade-A beef — it makes no sense.
This ruling forces IVF clinics to shutter their doors. It forces prospective parents in Alabama to seek opportunity elsewhere. It also makes family planning for single women and queer people far harder. Yet it’s what our nation seems to be allowing, at least down in Alabama.
And no shade to ‘Bama, although I don’t think it should be talking about protecting human life when it ranks 45th overall in child well-being, 47th in education, 45th in health care. And last year, following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, didn’t it eliminate all exceptions for abortion? Yeah.
So now, calling a cluster of cells stored in anti-freeze “children” seems to be on the struggle bus, just as the state has been for a long time. Labeling embryos as children isn’t the doing of a democracy. In fact, it’s the undoing of one.
On Demand, Jura nostra defended that butchered Latin for we dare defend our rights. That phrase also happens to be Alabama state motto and the cotton state appears to be busy defending the rights of human embryos that would be a sperm fertilized egg. According to eight of the nine justices on Alabama Supreme Court, frozen embryos created and stored for in vitro fertilization are children under state law. That’s an interesting ruling coming from a state that kept a variation of the one drop rule on its books until 2000. But facts aside, this ruling by Bamas High Court is not just problematic, but a painstaking violation of science, democracy and basic logic. Let’s get into the facts. An embryo is not a child. How do we know that?
Well, one is flash frozen like a premium cut of ahi tuna and the other is an inquisitive terrorist that talks back. You can’t put a living breathing human being in a freezer and expect them to be alive when you return. You can however, put an embryo and a Maytag drown it in Valvoline anti freeze type fluids and CPS will not bat an eye because an embryo is nothing more than a bunch of cells. They are not human beings. But that is not what Alabama’s High Court would have you believe Oh, no. Science be damned because there’s a higher authority apparently that’s operating down south. And his portion of the opinion Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote that human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God who views the destruction of his image as an affront to himself. Well, Justice Barker was aggressive with the pronouns there, and the nonsense and I get that Alabama wasn’t big on being part of the United States some 160 years ago. But the last time I checked, we were not supposed to be a blatant Christian theocracy. There was supposed to be this whole separation of church and state. So science should be the determinant factor here in the court decisions, not self serving deities envisioned by man and bolstered by folklore. As Americans we are entitled to a separation of church and state. Breaking away from King Henry’s church was the reason the Founding Fathers set up genocidal shop here to begin with. In fact, the First Amendment opens with Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, being free from someone’s religious persecution and ideology is the purported foundational tenant of our nation yet Alabama gets to throw that all aside to make embryos human beings. And that’s not only hypocritical in terms of the whole US Constitution thing, but it’s also just logically foolish.
Does this mean child support starts at fertilization can Alabamans claim frozen embryos on their taxes? Does a pregnant woman in Birmingham carpool lane get a pass? Or maybe must a miscarriage at 10 weeks mandate a police report? Where does it end helped me out? Claiming embryos or children is as much great a foolishness as Kobe is great a beef it makes no sense. This ruling forces IVF clinics to shutter their doors, it forces prospective parents in Alabama to seek opportunity elsewhere. It also makes family planning for single woman and queer people far harder. Yet it’s what our nation seems to be allowing at least down in Alabama, and no shade to Bama, although I don’t think it should be talking about protecting human life when it ranks 45th overall and child well being 47 than education 45th and health care. And last year following the reversal of Roe v Wade didn’t eliminate all exceptions for abortion. Yeah. So now calling a cluster of cells stored in anti-freeze Children seems to be on the struggle bus just as the state has been for a long time. Labeling embryos as children isn’t the doing of a democracy. In fact, it’s the undoing of one.
Related
NYPD’s lack of lawsuit disclosure shields it from accountability
An examination of public records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests revealed that nearly 13,000 legal cases brought against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) resulting in settlements or monetary awards over the past decade were not publicly disclosed, despite legal requirements to do so. Some analysts suggest that the NYPD’s failure…
Yesterday
Students learning brutal lesson on how police respond to protests
Student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza have escalated in the United States and around the world as civilian death counts in both Gaza and the West Bank continue to climb. Estimates show Israeli forces killed at least 42,500 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, and another two million survivors have been displaced from their homes.…
May 1
Supreme Court must end criminalization of homelessness
On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the nation’s homelessness crisis, considering whether an Oregon city had the right to ban homeless people from camping in public spaces. A majority of justices appeared inclined to support the city’s efforts to regulate homeless encampments on public grounds. This decision carries significant implications for the growing…
Apr 24
Why are non-consensual pelvic exams still happening?
More states are beginning to crack down on the surprisingly common practice of medical students and professional staff performing non-consensual pelvic exams on unconscious men and women in hospitals, universities and other medical facilities. Just one year ago today, those practices remained legal in a majority of U.S. states. Now, however, a new directive from…
Apr 17
Congress should repeal the Foreign Dredge Act
The collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge presents challenges for cleanup and construction crews who rely on dredging vessels to complete their work. That’s partly because of the Foreign Dredge Act, a 1906 law that prohibits foreign-made dredging vessels. Congress is now introducing a measure to revise parts of that law, although previous attempts to do…
Apr 10
Underreported stories from each side
US law could force Biden to pull UN funding if Palestinian recognition bypass succeeds, experts say
7 sources | 0% from the left
Reuters
Police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at MIT, move to clear Philadelphia and Arizona protests
24 sources | 0% from the right
Getty Images
Latest Stories
Federal appeals court rejects Hunter Biden’s dismissal request in gun case
Watch 0:54
39 mins ago
Judge denies Trump's request for mistrial after Daniels' testimony
Watch 6:50
1 hr ago
Is a bill to require proof of citizenship for voting necessary?
Watch 4:52
16 hrs ago
GM to end production of the Chevrolet Malibu to make more EVs
Watch 1:23
16 hrs ago
First aid ship bound for new Gaza pier sets sail from Cyprus
Watch 1:55
17 hrs ago
Popular Opinions
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.
Putin’s promise of a long war might be hollow threat
21 hrs ago
Leon Aron
Why the Trump family is missing from court appearances
22 hrs ago
Jordan Reid
Arizona bill legalizing shooting migrants is part of GOP brand
Yesterday
Ruben Navarrette
NYPD’s lack of lawsuit disclosure shields it from accountability
Yesterday
Adrienne Lawrence