Alabama Supreme Court Rules That Frozen Embryos Are Persons

Here’s the background on this decision. Three couples experienced the heartbreak of having their frozen embryos—their children—destroyed at a fertility clinic in Alabama. They brought forward a wrongful death case that made its way up to that state’s highest court, which concluded 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.’”

Justice Jay Mitchell stated,

Unborn children are “children” . . . without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics.

And Chief Justice Tom Parker said,

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

Wow—it’s incredibly rare to see a public figure acknowledge the truth that each person (including the unborn) is made in the image of God and that destroying a human life is wrong because it destroys a person who bears the image of the Creator. And it’s important to understand that life begins at fertilization.

What’s fascinating about this ruling is the response from the fertility industry, which is claiming that defining frozen embryos as what they are—human beings, persons—“really puts into question, the practice of IVF [in vitro fertilization],” with many claiming it will end this kind of fertility treatment in the state (reportedly some hospitals and clinics have temporary halted the practice already). This is incredibly revealing! What these people are basically saying is that if we define, and must therefore treat, an embryo as a human being, IVF will be much more challenging.

Here at AiG, we have pointed out for years that typical IVF procedures destroy human life on a regular basis as a standard practice. Babies are graded, and only the ones deemed most “viable” are implanted. Babies that show signs of a genetic abnormality; are less “fit”; or, perhaps, are the sex the parents don’t want are routinely discarded (killed). Or consider the fate of embryos who had siblings implanted and now mom and dad are finished having babies—those children will either be discarded, languish for years or decades in a freezer, or in some cases, will be mercifully put up for adoption so they can have a chance at life with a loving family.

The very fact that so many people are concerned about the future of reproductive technology in Alabama is a testament to the fact that practices like IVF, as a general rule, don’t value human life or consider the babies they’re creating in the lab to be actual persons, made in God’s image with infinite value. It’s horrifying to think of the thousands of babies “discarded” each day because of the eugenical practices of the reproductive industry!

As Christians, we can rejoice in this ruling that recognizes what’s evident from the Word of God and from science—human life begins (whether in the womb or out of it) at the very moment of fertilization.

As Christians, we can rejoice in this ruling that recognizes what’s evident from the Word of God and from science—human life begins (whether in the womb or out of it) at the very moment of fertilization. And each and every person is uniquely fashioned in God’s image and deserving of life. I encourage you to teach this truth to your children with resources such as Crafted by God by AiG’s Dr. Georgia Purdom and Stacia McKeever.

Get More Answers on Answers News

This item was discussed Wednesday on Answers News with cohosts Dr. Georgia Purdom, Jessica DeFord, and Rob Webb. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum, broadcast on our Answers in Genesis YouTube channel, and posted to Answers TV. We also covered the following topics:

• Study reveals men’s and women’s brains are different.
• Will Canadians be jailed for quoting the Bible?
• Earth has more coral reefs than previously thought.
• And more!

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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.