I am still trying to wrap my head around the recent decision by the Alabama Supreme Court to call an embryo a child!

From what I have read, in the in vitro fertilization process, after the egg has been fertilized, the embryo is left to develop for about 3-4 days before it is frozen (simplified version). At this point it has not even developed blood cells yet. Let’s consider the already frozen embryos currently in Alabama; are they due the inheritance left from their parents when the parents die? If companies in Alabama allow these embryos to thaw permanently (accidentally or intentionally), will the employees be charged with murder? Must you hold a funeral? If indeed they are children, as the Alabama court says they are, the Department of Social Services should investigate. This is clearly a situation of child abuse, don’t you think? Since they are now deemed children they should be taken out of the freezer immediately! Upon thawing, they should be offered blankets and something to eat and drink! Surely, they must be cold and shivering!

I feel sorry for all the people in Alabama who want to have children and can no longer consider this method. Alabama has set a legal precedent; what states will follow next?

Lynn (Watrous) O’Brien

Mystic