Opinion: The twisted irony in Alabama’s court decision on embryos

[ideologyhunter]

Fair's fair. Can I get half a child tax credit for splooge? And what form of submission does Alabama require?

 

[bilby]

Human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.

So the owners of the embryos can sue in civil court because God, but this isn't manslaughter?

I would interpret the judge's remark to imply "God has this covered, there's no need for any action from the legal system. Case dismissed".

He seems to instead be saying "God is probably angry, so in a staggering display of self-aggrandisement and lack of humility, I, a mere mortal, shall step in to take action because God, in His evident impotence, can or will not take any".

That's some serious blasphemy right there.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Yup, this is what I imagined the beginning would be. It could get a lot worse.

Days after Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children, one facility pauses IVF treatment | CNN

The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system is pausing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that found frozen embryos are children, the health system said in a statement to CNN.

amp.cnn.com

UAB said it was pausing IVF treatments while it evaluates the court’s decision.

“We are saddened that this will impact our patients’ attempt to have a baby through IVF, but we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments,” its statement said.

“We want to reiterate that it is IVF treatment that is paused. Everything through egg retrieval remains in place. Egg fertilization and embryo development is paused.”

 

[Copernicus]

The solution to the IVF problem in Alabama is to provide a sufficient number of wombs to implant all of the fertilized eggs in. Or maybe just implant them all in one womb. Also, fertilized embryos need to be kept warm. After all, they are human babies. No more frozen embryos please, or we'll have to put them up for adoption.

 

[Rhea]

What if they just stopped supplying electricity to the freezers and let the "parents" know?
"You've got about 3 hours to pick up your kids or they'll thaw."

Use that safe haven law and drop the freezer off at the emergency room door in a basket with a note, “Please help these babies, I couldn’t cope”

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

What if they just stopped supplying electricity to the freezers and let the "parents" know?
"You've got about 3 hours to pick up your kids or they'll thaw."

Use that safe haven law and drop the freezer off at the emergency room door in a basket with a note, “Please help these babies, I couldn’t cope”

...or leave them at the Alabama Supreme Court justices' houses.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I think the author's point is that a decision like this with respect to embryos has unintended consequences to IVF.

that’s quite a charitable use of the word “unintended”.

Exactly. They want everything to be done naturally, by fucking your cousin. No birth control either.

BTW, everyone in Alabama with frozen embryos needs to include them as dependents on their tax return.

And when do they qualify for Medicare and Social Security?

 

[Copernicus]

The irony is that the plaintiffs in the case were using IVF to conceive a child, and they were suing the clinic for mishandling their embryos. The Alabama Supreme Court actually agreed with the position that they could go ahead and sue the clinic. At the same time, they took the position that both the clinic and those suing them were essentially killing human beings and that their activity was henceforth illegal. They won't be able to conceive a child in the future by that method.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Also,
If it's God's Will, "no babies for you", why is IVF even legal in Alabama?
Tom

Because this decision just came down. We will see if it is legal much longer. Or at least impractical. If the IVF clinics fear lawsuits enough they just might close down.

Declare bankruptcy, move out of state and toss the embryos in the trash...

No. Arrange enough coolant to last a few weeks without any attention, move out of state, declare bankruptcy and tell the state that now all those people are it's problem. They're people, the state can't just let them die. They have to find surrogates and raise them.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So umm... yeah, I have 100 "children", I need welfare support.
Social security numbers?
No, I don't have those. Are you saying the sanctity of life only begins once the Government gives my "children" their own number?!

 

[Elixir]

So umm... yeah, I have 100 "children", I need welfare support.
Social security numbers?
No, I don't have those. Are you saying the sanctity of life only begins once the Government gives my "children" their own number?!

The jokes almost write themselves. And 70 million Americans “don’t get it”.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Also,
If it's God's Will, "no babies for you", why is IVF even legal in Alabama?
Tom

New ruling. The main hospital has already quit doing IVF because of it.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

The rich and powerful in the new theocracy don't really need IVF anyway. Any wealthy couple with childbearing problems can just hire a surrogate mother.

It'll all work out. Trust me.

 

[Jarhyn]

The rich and powerful in the new theocracy don't really need IVF anyway. Any wealthy couple with childbearing problems can just hire a surrogate mother.

It'll all work out. Trust me.

Or rent them, or just have them be government issue. We could even give them nifty hats, and maybe fancy dresses.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

What if they just stopped supplying electricity to the freezers and let the "parents" know?
"You've got about 3 hours to pick up your kids or they'll thaw."

Use that safe haven law and drop the freezer off at the emergency room door in a basket with a note, “Please help these babies, I couldn’t cope”

...or leave them at the Alabama Supreme Court justices' houses.

Not a valid safe haven spot.

Besides, looking it up I find that it has to be the parent doing it.

 

[Rhea]

Well then the lab can certainly drop them at the parents’ house, then, amirite?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Well then the lab can certainly drop them at the parents’ house, then, amirite?

I don't think that would be permitted as the parents will not have the ability to care for the kids. Very few people are equipped to maintain that sort of temperature and I doubt such equipment is even permitted in an ordinary house. (Asphyxiation risk from a LN2 leak.)

Call CPS.

 

[Jarhyn]

Well then the lab can certainly drop them at the parents’ house, then, amirite?

I don't think that would be permitted as the parents will not have the ability to care for the kids. Very few people are equipped to maintain that sort of temperature and I doubt such equipment is even permitted in an ordinary house. (Asphyxiation risk from a LN2 leak.)

Call CPS.

I can't help but think that this is yet another aspect of degrading government on purpose.

Do something stupid, get sued, say the state is ineffective because there's no money despite taxes, rinse, repeat.

This is like making the USPS carry an untenable burden of prepaying centuries worth of pensions, but with the intent to collapse certain businesses, and, yes, CPS.

Bad religious groups' parents fear CPS, particularly the dominion/quiverfull groups with lots of guns and/or children, and who elect politicians who fight hard against a minimum age to marry, exactly the sorts of parents who shouldn't be parents. And these people vote.

I don't expect this necessarily to be the attack on CPS but it is coming.

 

[Jarhyn]

I strongly suspect that the people running the party, the people in the GOP meeting behind closed doors and quietly authoring the bills arrange ways for things they don't like to fail on purpose. It would be just like them to demand CPS take on the burden of caring for IVF bullshit rather than recognizing their ruling is insane.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

2 more Alabama clinics pause IVF fertility treatment after court ruling

Two Alabama fertility clinics announced they would pause IVF treatment days after the state's Supreme Court issued a decision that said frozen embryos are children.

abcnews.go.com

...

"We're concerned that this ruling has far-reaching consequences for what we feel is safe to freeze and safe to discard," McLean said.

...

The court ruling opened the door to individuals being held civilly -- and potentially criminally -- liable for the destruction of embryos.