Ala. hospital halts IVF after state’s high court ruled embryos are “children”
arstechnica.com
Anger and uncertainty spread in wake of Friday's ruling by the state's Supreme Court.

Alabama hospital halts IVF after court ruled that embryos are “children” — Supreme Court decision means anyone who destroys embryos could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages::Anger and uncertainty spread in wake of Friday’s ruling by the state’s Supreme Court.

  • Bakachu@lemmy.worldEnglish
    72·
    9 months ago

    Okay. Don’t stop there Alabama. So if an embryo is now a child, let’s talk now about dependents and tax exemptions, protective services, custodial rights and responsibilities, welfare benefits, insurance requirements, HOV rules, census counts, adoption and fostering rules, school districts and education funds, estate planning and probate… You wanted to open Pandora’s damn box - now every piece of state legislation that involves a child now needs to be adjusted.

    Might get interesting in the news as questions arise over what the new guidelines are. But of course they won’t get addressed. Of course, of course.

    • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
      30·
      9 months ago

      Even worse potentially is causing a miscarriage is potentially murder. Miscarriages can happen for all sorts of reasons, some of which a person has no reasonable expectation that it’d cause one. That could still be at least third degree manslaughter though, if not worse. Fetal personhood is a huge can of worms that shouldn’t be touched. Way to go Alabama…

      • Zirconium@lemmy.worldEnglish
        19·
        9 months ago

        It just sounds like you can sue gas and automotive companies for their damages to your developing child

  • dugmeup@lemmy.worldEnglish
    25·
    9 months ago

    So are these embryos “born” to be counted as children?

    If they are all you need to to get a child US citizenship is claim they were conceived in Alabama. Which would be a hilarious outcome.

  • blackfire@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    9 months ago

    This is another plot to get the US supreme court to judge and if they don’t then this stupidity stands for years.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    42·
    9 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) health system is halting in vitro fertilization treatment in the wake of a ruling by the state’s Supreme Court on Friday that deemed frozen embryos to be “children,” The ruling opens up anyone who destroys embryos to liability in a wrongful death lawsuit, according to multiple media reports.

    In 2021, approximately 238,126 patients in the US had 413,776 rounds of IVF, resulting in 97,128 live-born infants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    But, the standard practices of IVF used for hundreds of thousands of patients each year were thrown into question and upheaval Friday when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that all embryos, even those outside of a uterus or frozen in storage, are “children” under state law.

    Reproductive health experts quickly speculated that the ruling would roll back IVF treatment in the state.

    Patients are considering moving frozen embryos—some leftover from IVF rounds, some purposely banked for future use—to storage facilities out of the state.

    And, if small clumps of cells gain personhood rights in more states, liability could spread to contraceptive use and people who suffer a miscarriage.

    The original article contains 553 words, the summary contains 190 words. Saved 66%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!