Alabama’s Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos must have the same legal rights as children and their disposal may be considered a form of wrongful death. 

The decision, which has been celebrated by pro-life organizations came as the result of a lawsuit brought by a group of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients whose frozen embryos were destroyed in December 2020 when a patient removed them from their cryogenic storage unit and accidentally dropped them on the floor. 

The Alabama Reflector reported under their lawsuit, which was filed against the Center for Reproductive Medicine in Mobile, the plaintiffs accused the facility of violating the Wrongful Death of A Child Act by discarding the embryos without their permission. 

In his opinion, Associate Justice Jay Michell argued that he was unable “to recognize an unwritten exception for extrauterine children in the wrongful-death context," adding that the wrongful-death law “applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation.”

VICTORY! Alabama Supreme Court Rules Frozen Embryos are Unborn Children https://t.co/E3lVPe4HTT pic.twitter.com/eH34id5cvM

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"It is not the role of this Court to craft a new limitation based on our own view of what is or is not wise public policy," he wrote. "That is especially true where, as here, the people of this state have adopted a constitutional amendment directly aimed at stopping courts from excluding ‘unborn life’ from legal protection."

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Tom Parker similarly argued “that even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory."

“The People of Alabama have declared the public policy of this State to be that unborn human life is sacred. We believe that each human being, from the moment of conception, is made in the image of God, created by Him to reflect His likeness,” he wrote.

However, Justice Greg Cook, who filed the only dissenting opinion, pointed out that the Wrongful Death Act does not specifically define the term "minor child" and expressed concern that the ruling could lead to the end of IVF treatments in Alabama altogether.

He wrote:

There is no doubt that the common law did not consider an unborn infant to be a child capable of being killed for the purpose of civil liability or criminal-homicide liability. In fact, for 100 years after the passage of the Wrongful Death Act, our case law did not allow a claim for the death of an unborn infant, confirming that the common law in 1872 did not recognize that an unborn infant (much less a frozen embryo) was a ‘minor child’ who could be killed.

The main opinion’s holding will mean that the creation of frozen embryos will end in Alabama. No rational medical provider would continue to provide services for creating and maintaining frozen embryos knowing that they must continue to maintain such frozen embryos forever or risk the penalty of a Wrongful Death Act claim for punitive damages.

The ruling underscores Alabama's robust pro-life legislation, which was implemented immediately after the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Under current law, Alabama the state outlaws all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest, unless there is a serious threat to the mother's life.