Alabama Supreme court rules in-vitro embryos are children

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WPMI) — The Alabama Supreme court issued a divided opinion on Friday declaring fertilized, un-implanted embryos as children under Alabama law.

Justice James “Jay” Mitchell writing for the court : “Unborn children are "children" under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics.”

The ruling reverses a lower court dismissal of the suit filed in 2022 by three couples over the destruction of embryos by a patient at Mobile Infirmary.

The couples claim that in October 2021, one of the Infirmary’s patients gained access to the cryogenic storage area and removed embryos from the freezer. It is believed that patient then dropped the embryos on the floor, destroying them.

The foundation of the lawsuit hinged on the legal definition of a cryopreserved embryo. Initially, the couples claimed their embryos should be considered people. The lower court then ruled they were not, for purposes of Alabama’s wrongful death statute.

The 8-1 decision today declares “the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”

The ruling sends the case back down to the Mobile Circuit court for further proceedings in which the couples are seeking punitive damages against Mobile Infirmary and The Center for Reproductive Medicine.

The ruling could also far-reaching effects for IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) treatments in Alabama. The Alabama Medical Association argued that overturning the lower court ruling could cause the states 5 fertility clincs to close due to increased wrongful death liabilities. The opinion noted that that was a policy issue for the state legislature, not the court.