Page 8 - Wrongful Death Act News Today

The Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos are children could lead to lawsuits for destroying frozen embryos, raising questions about in-vitro fertilization.

Frozen embryos are "children" under Alabama law, the state's Supreme Court says. Its decision could have major implications for the future of fertility treatments in the state.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system is pausing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that found frozen embryos are children, the health system said in a statement to CNN.

While the letter of the 19th-century law protects even embryos in stasis, Alabama's Supreme Court encouraged legislators to take up the issue.

Alabama's Supreme Court has ruled that those who seek to destroy the embryo can be held accountable for wrongful death.

The hospital system said it is pausing IVF treatments to “evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally.”

By Isabel Rosales, Christina Maxouris, Meg Tirrell, Chris Youd and Maxime Tamsett, CNN

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker cited the Bible to explain why.

A third fertility clinic in Alabama has halted part of its IVF treatment programs following the state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children.

A trial court initially ruled embryos weren't legally considered "children." The Alabama Supreme Court overturned this decision, permitting three couples, whose frozen embryos were destroyed after being dropped by a wandering patient at a Mobile hospital, to pursue wrongful death claims.