On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we discuss the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death.
According to HuffPost, the state Supreme Court decision centered on a 2020 lawsuit in which three couples sued another Alabama fertility clinic and hospital for the "wrongful death" of their frozen embryos, using a legal framework for bringing civil charges when a child dies. The couples’ frozen embryos were reportedly destroyed by a patient who wandered into the cryogenic storage area where the embryos are kept and dropped them on the floor.
A circuit court judge had dismissed the lawsuit in the wrongful death suit, ruling that the statute did not apply to frozen embryos, but the Republican controlled Alabama Supreme Court reversed that decision. A majority of the justices — including the chief justice, who recently appeared on a QAnon conspiracist’s show — ruled in favor of defining embryos as children under the wrongful death statute.
Guests:
Katie Herchenroeder, fellow at Mother Jones covering gender inequity and violence against women
Alanna Vagianos, senior national reporter at HuffPost covering gender and politics with a focus on gender-based violence and reproductive justice
Resources:
HuffPost: After Alabama Court Decision, Panic And Heartbreak In Fertility Clinics
Mother Jones: What Happens If We Actually Treat Fetuses Like People?
The Nation: Alabama’s IVF Ruling Is Christian Theology Masquerading as Law
New Republic: Alabama’s Unhinged Embryo Ruling Shows Where the Anti-Abortion Movement Is Headed
Media Matters: Alabama Supreme Court chief justice spreads Christian nationalist rhetoric on QAnon conspiracy theorist's show
