An American university in Alabama announced, on Wednesday, that it would suspend all of its treatments related to in vitro fertilization, after a decision issued by the Supreme Court in this southern US state, which ruled that embryos preserved by freezing should be considered “children.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) said in a statement that it was “saddened” by the impact of this comment on patients at its medical institutions.
“But we must weigh the possibility that our patients and doctors may face criminal prosecution or face punitive fines for following in vitro fertilization standards of care,” she said.
UAB’s announcement comes days after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling ruled that cryopreserved embryos should be considered “children.”
Citing an 1872 law regarding errant deaths of minors, three couples sued an in vitro fertilization clinic after another patient accidentally destroyed their embryos by entering a storage site.
The court initially dismissed the complaint, concluding that the fetuses could not be described as a “person” or a “child.”
But on Friday, by a 7-2 vote of justices, all Republicans, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled, to the contrary, that the infant mortality law “applies to all unborn children, without limitation.”
“This applies to all children, whether born or unborn,” she added, according to what Judge Jay Mitchell wrote in the text of the decision, which included many quotes from the Bible.
Resolve, the main American society specializing in infertility treatment, warned Tuesday that this logic could have “serious consequences” for in vitro fertilization procedures.
The White House also condemned the decision in similar terms. US presidential spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that across the country, women are suffering the devastating consequences of the actions of Republican elected officials.
Democrats have made defending the right to abortion one of their most prominent campaign headlines in the November presidential election.
Nikki Haley, the only candidate still facing Donald Trump in the race for the Republican Party nomination, announced on Wednesday her support for the Alabama court’s decision.
She told NBC News, “For me, fetuses are children,” adding, “When you talk about a fetus…, for me, it is life.”
2024-02-23 07:34:40
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