Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are 'children' under state law

When talking about infertility, you've likely heard of intrauterine insemination II or in vitro fertilization IVF but there's another option out there. And I'm about to meet *** family that has had three kids through that process. Ok. So Eleanor, can you find one of these embryo donation is how these three kids came to be Kirsten. And Joshua Blair are the parents of Eleanor five and Hadden Kirsten was pregnant with all of them. But their DNA is different from Kirsten and Joshua because they were donated embryos, meaning the egg and sperm that formed. Each child came from *** different couple. We knew from the time we got married that we wanted to have kids. Um about two months after we got married. Um I basically went into premature menopause which was very shocking and was told that I would not be able to have my own kids. Embryo donation is an option available to people facing infertility. The Blair got their embryos through an organization called snowflakes embryo adoption. Vice President Kimberly Tyson says the embryos came from couples who have participated in in vitro fertilization. Oftentimes more embryos are created than that family ends up using for themselves and any remaining embryos are frozen. According to Katie Cameron, an infertility specialist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, there are several options, couples have for remaining frozen embryos including embryo donation um to another individual or couple who is growing their family. Um There is also the option to donate those embryos to research um or to just um advise the clinic that they would like those to be thawed and discarded and not used for any future purposes. And we hope that they'll make the disposition choice to donate them to another couple who will then give them an opportunity to be born. That reason is why Kirsten says she and her husband ultimately decided to go the embryo donation route. And I know people often don't think of frozen embryos as kids, but we really did believe like this is *** its own unique life and it's kind of frozen in limbo right now. And we were told at the time that there were about 500,000 frozen embryos in the US and their parents didn't really know what to do. Kimberley says that number is now up to *** million. I do *** lot of work in communicating with fertility clinics to encourage them to tell their patients about this as an option. Numbers from an embryo donation, national study found from 2004 to 2019, there were 21,000 frozen donated embryo transfers in the US resulting in nearly 8500 live births. While the number of people choosing embryo donation has been increasing, Katie says it's still quite rare compared to other infertility methods. I think that, you know, when people pursue fertility treatment, oftentimes one or the other or both members of the couple are pursuing treatment with the intention to use their own biologic gas gametes are eggs and sperm reasons that some he would ultimately end up pursuing embryo donation. For instance. Um If it turned out that both members um of *** heterosexual couple, um were, you know, had absolute infertility and were not able to contribute genetic information. Um Or for instance, um if um *** woman ultimately ended up needing um donor egg and was un partnered or was otherwise going to use *** sperm donor, then she might elect *** donor embryo that's already created when donating embryos. Both Katie and Kimberly say it involves medical screening, psychological counseling and informed consent. So the transfer of rights is done in *** way that everyone involved is comfortable with the process. When somebody pursues embryo donation, then they are waiving their future rights to those embryos in terms of money. Kimberley says the cost including transfer is about $16,000 while in vitro fertilization can be anywhere between 15 to $30,000. Kirsten and Joshua say no fertility treatment is super affordable, but for them, it was worth it. If it was going to be *** hard process anyway, we really did want to give *** chance at life for embryos that already existed. These are our kids and, you know, it's just *** little bit different route to get there. Elizabeth Ruiz Scripps News, Colorado Springs have it today.

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a ruling critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatments.Related video above: Rise in embryo donations as an infertility treatment optionThe decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled 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' ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics," Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in the majority ruling Friday from the all-Republican court.Mitchell said the court had previously ruled that fetuses killed while a woman is pregnant are covered under Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act and nothing excludes "extrauterine children from the Act’s coverage."The ruling brought a rush of warnings about the potential impact on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, which had previously been considered property by the courts."This ruling is stating that a fertilized egg, which is a clump of cells, is now a person. It really puts into question, the practice of IVF," Barbara Collura, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, said in an interview Tuesday. The group called the decision a "terrifying development for the 1 in 6 people impacted by infertility" who need in-vitro fertilization.She said it raises a number of questions for providers and patients, including if they can freeze future embryos created during fertility treatment or if patients could ever donate or destroy unused embryos.The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos, some of which were implanted and resulted in healthy births. The couples had paid to keep others frozen in a storage facility at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. A patient in 2020 wandered into the area and removed several embryos, dropping them on the floor and "killing them," the ruling said.The justices ruled that wrongful death lawsuits by the couples could proceed.An anti-abortion group cheered the 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.Chief Justice Tom Parker issued a concurring opinion that quoted the Bible as he discussed the meaning of the phrase "the sanctity of unborn life" in the Alabama Constitution."Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory," Parker said.Justice Greg Cook, who filed the only full dissent to the majority opinion, said the 1872 law did not define "minor child" and was being stretched from the original intent to cover frozen embryos."Moreover, there are other significant reasons to be concerned about the main opinion's holding. No court – anywhere in the country – has reached the conclusion the main opinion reaches," he wrote, adding the ruling "almost certainly ends the creation of frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama."The Alabama Supreme Court decision partly hinged on anti-abortion language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018, stating that it is the "public policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child."Supporters at the time said it would "be a declaration of voters' beliefs" and would have no impact unless states gain more control over abortion access. States gained control of abortion access in 2022. Critics at the time said it would have broad ramifications for civil and criminal law beyond abortion access and that it was essentially a "personhood" measure that would establish constitutional rights for fertilized eggs.

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a ruling critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatments.

Related video above: Rise in embryo donations as an infertility treatment option

The decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled 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' ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics," Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in the majority ruling Friday from the all-Republican court.

Mitchell said the court had previously ruled that fetuses killed while a woman is pregnant are covered under Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act and nothing excludes "extrauterine children from the Act’s coverage."

The ruling brought a rush of warnings about the potential impact on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, which had previously been considered property by the courts.

"This ruling is stating that a fertilized egg, which is a clump of cells, is now a person. It really puts into question, the practice of IVF," Barbara Collura, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, said in an interview Tuesday. The group called the decision a "terrifying development for the 1 in 6 people impacted by infertility" who need in-vitro fertilization.

She said it raises a number of questions for providers and patients, including if they can freeze future embryos created during fertility treatment or if patients could ever donate or destroy unused embryos.

The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos, some of which were implanted and resulted in healthy births. The couples had paid to keep others frozen in a storage facility at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. A patient in 2020 wandered into the area and removed several embryos, dropping them on the floor and "killing them," the ruling said.

The justices ruled that wrongful death lawsuits by the couples could proceed.

An anti-abortion group cheered the 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.

Chief Justice Tom Parker issued a concurring opinion that quoted the Bible as he discussed the meaning of the phrase "the sanctity of unborn life" in the Alabama Constitution.

"Even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory," Parker said.

Justice Greg Cook, who filed the only full dissent to the majority opinion, said the 1872 law did not define "minor child" and was being stretched from the original intent to cover frozen embryos.

"Moreover, there are other significant reasons to be concerned about the main opinion's holding. No court – anywhere in the country – has reached the conclusion the main opinion reaches," he wrote, adding the ruling "almost certainly ends the creation of frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama."

The Alabama Supreme Court decision partly hinged on anti-abortion language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018, stating that it is the "public policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child."

Supporters at the time said it would "be a declaration of voters' beliefs" and would have no impact unless states gain more control over abortion access. States gained control of abortion access in 2022. Critics at the time said it would have broad ramifications for civil and criminal law beyond abortion access and that it was essentially a "personhood" measure that would establish constitutional rights for fertilized eggs.

Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are 'children' under state law

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