The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, are considered children under state law and are therefore subject to legislation dealing with the wrongful death of a minor if one is destroyed.'The Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location,' the opinion states, including 'unborn children who are located outside of a biological uterus at the time they are killed.
Mari Mitrani, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Gattaca Genomics, told CBS News the ruling poses 'serious potential and unintended consequences to the fertility industry as a whole, threatening Alabamans' rights to start a family.'About 1 in 5 people are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.