Just when you thought the GOP-influenced “ecclesiastical” movement couldn’t get any more ridiculous the Alabama Supreme Court speaks up. Embryos are children. Apart from the complications we will outline below consider this. Alabama now considers the rights of an embryo to be at least equal to those of a pregnant woman. Embryos are protected by child abuse laws but pregnant women whose lives are threatened by a dangerous pregnancy are not. Think about these issues:

  • A reading of the Alabama State Tax code confirms that embryos are tax deductible exemptions–thereby reducing tax revenue for the state.
  • Re insurance plans: insurance policies usually include “children of the insured” as covered under both medical plans and family life insurance policies. This will increase costs for insurers.
  • All wills that designate estates to be divided among children of the deceased will now be faced with distributing funds to an embryo. How will that work?
  • What if the involved couple happens to change their mind and move out of state? What happens to their embryo? Is Alabama planning to extradite and prosecute for child abuse?…child endangerment?
  • Since In Vitro Fertilization occasionally results in serious physical complications and Alabama has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws how will a pregnant woman resolve her pregnancy without being able to abort the developing embryo?
  • What if the involved couple dies in an auto accident, will the state take over the care and cost of their embryo? How will that information reach the state–that there is an embryo to care for?
  • If a storage facility has a fire or is hit by a tornado or–more likely–has a power outage, will anyone be charged with child abuse or child endangerment because they didn’t anticipate that possibility?
  • If the embryo is to be adopted out and the adoption couple change their minds, are they responsible for the costs of maintaining the embryo in the storage facility?
  • Will a new industry spring up where couples with embryos offer to sell their embryo to the highest bidder?
  • Will absolute refusal to maintain the embryo result in the state taking over its cost with tax dollars?
  • What if the prospective parents divorce and the embryo is abandoned?
  • What if a same-sex couple (female, of course) offers to incubate the embryo and raise the child as their own? Will the state OK same-sex unions to allow the implant of an embryo in an individual that the state doesn’t accept as a suitable household?
  • Freezing an embryo is about an 8 week development process. At what stage is the embryo considered a child?
  • What happens if the storage facility mishandles the embryo and it perishes? Will we see murder charges filed because the facility killed the minor child?
  • What if the reason to freeze an embryo is the temporary physical condition of the Mother and then that condition worsens–making conception impossible?
  • How long must a storage facility maintain these children if no one comes for them for many years? is there any way for the facility to legally remove the minor child embryo from its care?
  • Will we see lawsuits stemming from embryo placement, handling, storing, destruction, re-location? It seems likely that these issue will surface?

There are probably many more issues the reader can imagine. We know the IVF process is expensive and it can be attempted more than once–with the cost escalating each time. Plus, we need to consider the Alabama anti-abortion law and the extremely difficult situation if an inseminated woman encounters a dangerous pregnancy. With the nation overwhelmingly in favor of IVF this Supreme Court ruling is extremely unpopular–especially given the anti-abortion laws in Alabama. The resulting stress will probably destroy IVF in Alabama and leave thousands of existing embryos in limbo. How the state deals with that, the medical professions blowback, storage facility rage, and voter disgust is yet to be determined. One thing is for sure: The GOP has lost another huge voter block by alienating the 86% of Americans who support IVF. Consider this: any couple that is willing to spend thousands of dollars, endure a non-traditional insemination procedure, risk a dangerous pregnancy–all to give life so they can share love within a familial setting should be fully supported by all of us. But to take the court’s decision as anything but an attempt to deprive many loving couples of the family they long for is itself criminal. Let’s hope other states don’t make the same stupid move. And remember who did this when you vote in November–it’s the only way we can remove leaders who fail to serve.

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