Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are children; White House reacts

Days after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos can be considered children under state law on Friday, Feb. 16, critics of the decision are speaking out, including those in the Biden administration. While saying she would not comment on the specific case, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reacted while on board Air Force One on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

“This is exactly the type of chaos that we expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and paved the way for politicians to dictate some of the most personal decisions families can make,” Jean-Pierre said. “…as a reminder, this is the same state whose attorney general threatened to prosecute people who help women travel out of state to seek the care they need.”

The Alabama ruling concerned a case where a couple’s embryos were destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic in 2020. In the majority ruling by the all-Republican court, the justices said an 1872 statute in the state’s constitution allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”

We were right to be worried that IVF could be next.

This ruling effectively labels women in Alabama who undergo IVF as criminals and their doctors as killers.

Congress must pass my bill to establish a statutory right to access IVF and other ART services nationwide. https://t.co/QnZpNRpdtv

— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) February 20, 2024

Barbara Collura, the CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, told the Association Press that the ruling puts into question the practice of in vitro fertilization or IVF. Collura added that it is “a terrifying development for the 1 in 6 people impacted by infertility.”

Live Action, an anti-abortion group, cheered the court’s decision.

“Each person, from the tiniest embryo to an elder nearing the end of his life, has incalculable value that deserves and is guaranteed legal protection,” Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said in a statement.

The justice’s decision means the couple’s wrongful death lawsuit can proceed, with the clinic having the option to ask the court to reconsider its ruling.