Frozen embryos 'not persons under the law,' Alabama fertility clinic argues in wrongful death suit - AL.com
The Alabama fertility clinic and hospital being sued for wrongful death by three couples whose frozen embryos were allegedly destroyed by a Mobile Infirmary Medical Center patient are seeking to dismiss the lawsuits.
The attorneys are arguing that the embryos are “not ‘persons under the law,’” according to court filings obtained by AL.com.
The couples, who cited Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker’s concurring opinion from a 2016 case in which the state’s highest court said a woman could pursue a wrongful death case against her doctor when she had a miscarriage, argue their legal action has merit under the law.
“Wrongfully causing and/or allowing the death of an embryonic human being is no different than causing the death of a human being at any other stage of life,” the lawsuits state.
“Embryonic human beings are human beings.”
But the Center for Reproductive Medicine, a Mobile fertility clinic that stores human embryos from the clinic at Mobile Infirmary, and the hospital filed a motion last week to dismiss the lawsuits.
That motion is centering their case on the argument that the embryos that were allegedly destroyed by a wandering patient last December are not people.
“The plaintiffs lack standing to assert a claim as ‘parents’ before placement of the pre-embryos in utero, and the frozen, pre-implantation embryos lack standing, as they are not ‘persons’ under the law,” the defendants stated in their motion to dismiss the case.
“Alabama law – both statutory and case law – indicates that, within the context of assisted reproduction, the term ‘parent’ is intended to apply to persons only after there is an in utero placement of eggs, sperm or embryos,” their motion reads.
Further, according to the defendants, the Alabama Legislature only extended the definition of “person” to include an unborn child “in utero at any stage of development” and not embryos outside the womb.
“The Legislature has twice specifically excluded extrauterine/pre-implantation embryos from the definition of ‘person’ and ‘unborn child,’” they claimed.
A hearing on the motion to dismiss the case is set for Jan. 4, while a motion to seal the case is scheduled for Thursday.
source: https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2021/11/frozen-embryos-not-persons-under-the-law-alabama-fertility-clinic-argues-in-bid-to-dismiss-wrongful-death-suit.html
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