Alabama Supreme Court Declines to Revisit IVF Ruling

The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday declined to rehear its landmark ruling finding that embryos kept outside the uterus are children and are thus covered under wrongful death laws. In a 7–2 decision, the justices rejected a request to revisit the ruling without comment. Justices William Sellers and Greg Cook dissented, with Justice Sellers writing the dissenting opinion. The court’s initial ruling in February drew global attention and prompted fertility clinics in the state to cease services, which later resumed once lawmakers in the GOP-led legislature passed legislation to protect them from civil lawsuits. In February, the Alabama Supreme Court granted three couples the right to pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their “extrauterine children” after their frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a cryogenic facility....