The Alabama Supreme Court just issued a major ruling on the sanctity of life for unborn babies and, quite predictably, Democrats are freaking out and casting blame for the decision on former President Donald Trump.
Alabama's high court ruled that frozen embryos created by in vitro fertilization count as "unborn children" under the state's law and, as such, anyone who destroys those frozen embryos can be held liable for the wrongful death of a child, CNN reported.
The decision sparked instant outrage from the left, including blame for Trump and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as furious invective toward pro-life Christians and overly dire predictions about the potentially grim and far-reaching consequences and repercussions of the court's determination.
At issue in the case was an incident in December 2020 in which the frozen embryos of three sets of would-be parents were destroyed in a Mobile fertility clinic when a patient supposedly removed them from the cryogenic storage facility but dropped them on the floor after suffering freezer burns on their hands.
The parents sued for wrongful death under a particular state law but lost at the district court level, as that court declared that the "cryopreserved, in vitro embryos involved in this case do not fit within the definition of a 'person' or 'child.'"
Yet, on appeal, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed and remanded that decision back to the district court after the justices determined that "extrauterine children," or unborn babies "located outside of a biological uterus at the time they are killed," are considered to be "children" under the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor law that allows parents to file punitive lawsuits when their children are killed.
The court's majority observed that unborn children -- whether located inside or out of the womb -- have a right to life, and Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote in a concurring opinion, "The People of Alabama have declared the public policy of this State to be that unborn human life is sacred. We believe that each human being, from the moment of conception, is made in the image of God, created by Him to reflect His likeness."
The CNN article shared numerous quotes from critics of the ruling who issued dire warnings about the potential ramifications that will stem from the Alabama Supreme Court's determination that frozen embryos constitute a protected human life.
That includes claims that clinics, doctors, and even would-be parents will now be too afraid of potential civil liability to move forward with IVF pregnancies, and assertions that the same will never be able to discard unused or even unviable frozen embryos, but rather will be forced to store them in perpetuity for generations to come so as to avoid a possible lawsuit if the embryo is ever destroyed.
None of what was in the CNN article compared, however, to the over-the-top hyperbole of MSNBC columnist Sarah Posner, who decried the Alabama ruling as a "terrifying preview" of what was to come in a nationwide "theocratic dystopia" if former President Trump was re-elected to another term, in that he and his allies would seek to impose a form of strict "Christian nationalism" of the sort that she insisted was exemplified by the expressed religious faith of the Alabama justices in the ruling.
In her fever dream, the columnist envisioned not just the imminent end of IVF pregnancies across the country, but also efforts to outlaw all forms of contraception, not to mention "sweeping anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ policies," if not forced Christianity for all, regardless of their particular religious or secular beliefs.
Even President Joe Biden got in on the act with a statement that said, "Today, in 2024 in America, women are being turned away from emergency rooms and forced to travel hundreds of miles for health care, while doctors fear prosecution for providing an abortion. And now, a court in Alabama put access to some fertility treatments at risk for families who are desperately trying to get pregnant.
"The disregard for women’s ability to make these decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable," he continued. "Make no mistake: this is a direct result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade."
"I know that folks are worried about what they’re seeing happening to women all across America. I am too. I hear about it everywhere I go," Biden added. "My message is: The Vice President and I are fighting for your rights. We’re fighting for the freedom of women, for families, and for doctors who care for these women. And we won’t stop until we restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law for all women in every state."
