Alabama Attorney General Says He Won’t Prosecute IVF Providers, Families
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Friday scrambled to guarantee in vitro fertilization suppliers and sufferers within the state that he has no intention of prosecuting them, following an explosive Alabama Supreme Court ruling final week that discovered frozen embryos ought to legally be thought of youngsters.
“Attorney General Marshall has no intention of using the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers,” Katherine Robertson, chief counsel within the Alabama legal professional common’s workplace, mentioned in a press release.
Advertisement
At least three IVF clinics within the state have paused their providers, fearing they could possibly be held criminally accountable for the embryos that type the core of their work.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) known as on state lawmakers to make clear the ruling and explicitly defend IVF procedures.
“Following the ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court, I said that in our state, we work to foster a culture of life,” Ivey mentioned in a press release Friday. “This certainly includes some couples hoping and praying to be parents who utilize IVF… I look forward to continue closely following this issue.”
Alabama has among the strictest anti-abortion legal guidelines within the nation ― all of which the state legal professional common has championed. Marshall pledged final yr that he’ll attempt to prosecute folks who take abortion capsules and people who present and facilitate journey for out-of-state abortion entry.
Advertisement
In his concurring opinion final week, Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker turned to the Bible to justify his determination.
“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,” he wrote.
“Even before birth,” Parker added, “all human beings have the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory.”
Parker additionally just lately appeared on a podcast hosted by a QAnon conspiracy theorist, the place he claimed “God created government” and invoked Christian nationalist theology.
