From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 3 hours ago
Image of in vitro fertilization. nevodka.com / stock.adobe.com
This court decision could have “devastating consequences” for in vitro fertilization procedures in this southern US state, according to America's main infertility association.
The Alabama Supreme Court considers embryos preserved by freezing to be “children,” a decision that was sharply criticized by the American medical community and the White House on Tuesday, February 20. According to Resolve, America's leading infertility association, Friday's court decision could have “devastating consequences” for in vitro fertilization procedures in this southern US state.
“Across the country, women are suffering the devastating consequences of the actions of Republican elected officials,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean denounced on Tuesday. -Skirt. Friday's decision reflects “exactly the chaos that was expected when the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade,” the 1973 ruling that established the right to abortion, said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
All Republican judges
In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court ended the constitutional guarantee of the right to abortion, leading many states, including Alabama, to restrict or ban this right. Defending abortion rights has since become a Democratic hobbyhorse in the run-up to November's presidential election.
Friday's decision was based on a complaint from three couples against a clinic that practices in vitro fertilization. Citing an 1872 law on the wrongful death of minors, they filed a complaint after another patient accidentally destroyed his embryos while entering a storage area. A court initially dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the embryos did not qualify as a “person” or “child.”
We believe that every person is created in the image of God from the moment of conception. HAS”
The Supreme Court of Alabama
But on Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court, by a majority of seven justices against two, all Republicans, ruled to the contrary that the infant mortality law “applies indefinitely to all children born.” “This applies to all children, whether born or unborn,” writes Judge Jay Mitchell in the text of the decision, which is peppered with Bible references. “The people of Alabama have declared that it is the policy of this state that unborn human life is sacred,” he wrote, referring to the abortion ban within the state. “We believe that every human being is created in the image of God from the moment of conception,” he further states in his court decision.
“This new legal framework could make practices such as in vitro fertilization impossible,” denounced the NGO Resolve. The Alabama State Medical Association warned that such a decision “could lead to the closure of fertility and death clinics.” “The relocation of specialists to other states to practice” without fear of legal problems.