Alabama Supreme Court: Wrongful death law covers destruction of frozen embryos
February 20, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: In a 7-2 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that those who destroy frozen embryos may be sued under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.
The state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act “is sweeping and unqualified,” the majority ruled. “It applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation. It is not the role of this Court to craft a new limitation based on our own view of what is or is not wise public policy.”
In his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote that “the theologically based view of the sanctity of life adopted by the People of Alabama encompasses the following: (1) God made every person in His image; (2) each person therefore has a value that far exceeds the ability of human beings to calculate; and (3) human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God, who views the destruction of His image as an affront to Himself.”
He added, “This is true of unborn human life no less than it is of all other human life—that even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing His glory.”
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