As Dr. Alexander Lozano points out, the Supreme Court of Alabama has decreed that frozen embryos – and, by extensions, embryos in general – should be considered persons in law. This, after a suit against a fertility clinic, which due to lack of security, allowed a number of embryos to be accidentally destroyed – that is, killed. The clinic tried to claim that the embryos were property, not persons, but the justices disagreed. To put it mildly, this is a landmark ruling. Already a number of fertility centres have suspended operations.
There are more details in this First Things article by Emma Waters, but I was struck by the supernatural clarity of Chief Justice Tom Parker:
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.
The ‘wrath of a holy God’? ‘Destruction of His image’? Imagine any judge or lawyer – any bureaucrat – saying that here in abortion-and IVF-free-for-all Canada.
We will have more to say about the fate of these frozen embryos, but, for now, we rejoice in these steps towards life, and dream of headin’ down south to sweet home Alabama, where the skies are blue, and babies’ lives held true.