I remember in 2022 when I read the headline from the New York Times, “In 6-to-3 Ruling, Supreme Court Ends Nearly 50 Years of Abortion Rights.”
I just couldn’t believe it. The Supreme Court ruled that abortion laws were now up to the states. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.
On Feb. 16, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are now considered children under state law. Meaning, the disposal of embryos will now be prohibited under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.
This October term case, released on Feb. 16, formed when a group of hopeful couples had their embryos collected through in vitro fertilization, more commonly referred to as IVF. They were waiting to start the implantation process when a separate patient illegally trespassed into the cryogenic nursery, where the center stored the embryos. Due to the unexpected cold temperature, the patient dropped the embryos on the floor, making them unviable.
The patient who trespassed and destroyed the embryos needs to be legally punished, there’s no doubt about that, but charging them with the killing of children is extreme. The center also needs to be punished for neglect. I can’t begin to imagine how devastating this is for the families involved, and I sympathize with them.
However, are these embryos really children, like the court says? No.
Alabama lawmakers saw this as an opportunity to advance their anti-abortion agenda. The case revolved around the question of when life begins, which has been at the heart of the anti-abortion vs. abortion rights debate for decades. This case was just an opportunity to finalize Alabama lawmakers’ choice of when they wanted to say that life started. They used these families as a part of their ploy.
During the case, the defense, the reproductive center, claimed that an embryo cannot be considered a child because it can’t survive without a womb. I agree.
Yes, embryos are defined as living. However, embryos are not yet fetuses, let alone children. There needs to be a pregnancy for the embryo to turn into a child, but in this case, the insemination didn’t happen yet.
The plaintiffs — the families that froze their embryos — claimed that the “unequal treatment” against the embryos would go against the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This clause protects all Americans legally, no matter who you are or where you come from.
What’s interesting is the fact that the Equal Protection Clause was written to protect minorities, yet Alabama was ranked 44th out of all 50 states in the Racial Inequality Index.
Just last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alabama discriminated against Black voters under the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court of Alabama seems like it picks and chooses what or who it cares about when it comes to the law.
The decision was based completely on anti-abortion values.
Even worse, during the ruling, the Supreme Court cited the Bible, including Jeremiah verse 1:5 in the conclusion of the statement. I’m Catholic, but I know church needs to be separate from state.
Using these families to prove a political point is already disgusting, but doing it as a legal entity that’s supposed to be unbiased is a slap in the face to the legal system and the Americans who rely on it for justice.
Instead of interpreting Bible verses, The Alabama Supreme Court should focus on interpreting the law.
