The Alabama Supreme Court handed down a first-of-its-kind ruling last week that said frozen embryos created from in vitro fertilization “are children” and should be protected as such under the law: a decision that ostensibly hands anti-abortion advocates a win, and uses language taken directly from the movement.
But prominent anti-abortion organizations have been hesitant to speak about it. Major national groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and National Right to Life — both which have statements on their websites about protecting the “unborn” — normally are quick to put out statements when a court, both on the federal and state level, rules on an anti-abortion matter. That wasn’t the case this time around.
The National Right to Life did not respond to a request for comment. After this story published, SBA sent a statement saying that the ruling “does not mean fertility treatment is prohibited. Rather it means fertility treatments need not carelessly or intentionally destroy the new life created.”