Pro-Life Activists Embrace Alabama IVF Ruling

State supreme court decision allows wrongful death lawsuits when embryos are destroyed.

Attorney General of Alabama Steve Marshall speaks to members of the press after the oral argument of the Merrill v. Milligan case at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 4, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Alabama Supreme Court’s finding last month that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered minor children under state law has been hailed by the pro-life movement.

But the effect of the ruling was soon blunted when the Alabama Legislature passed a bill shielding IVF providers and customers from liability for embryo deaths, which was signed into law by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on March 6.