By Dan Miller, Pro-Life Wisconsin State Director
In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF, has been headline news lately. From the Latin, “In Vitro” is defined as “in glass,” and IVF is a test or procedure performed outside of a living organism, in a laboratory environment, such as a test tube or petri dish. lately. From the Latin, “In Vitro” is defined as “in glass,” and IVF is a test or procedure performed outside of a living organism, in a laboratory environment, such as a test tube or petri dish.
Recently, an IVF lawsuit made its way to the Supreme Court of Alabama where a patient of the hospital attached to the Center for Reproductive Medicine in Mobile, Alabama, wandered into the cryogenic nursery where fertilized eggs are stored at -325°F. She picked up a container of fertilized eggs, which freeze burned her hands immediately, causing her to drop the container of fertilized eggs onto the floor and consequently killing all the embryonic PERSONS in it. We use the word “PERSONS” because of what happened in the ensuing court case, LePage v Center for Reproductive Medicine. However tragic, this accident in Alabama resulted in what could be a life- affirming outcome for preborn babies everywhere. In LePage, the Alabama Supreme Court used an 1876 law to rule that legal protection extends to “extrauterine” persons (such as embryos in an IVF lab) from the moment of conception, regardless of their viability.
To understand why LePage v Center for Reproductive Medicine may help in establishing a precedent for the Personhood of the preborn, it’s important to know a little about the Alabama court history. In 1876, Alabama passed the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act (Article 22, Section 6-5-391), which protected any person considered a minor. In LePage, the Court interpreted this protection to include as a minor the preborn child from conception, regardless of location. The Court based its decision on the dictates of the Alabama Constitution, specifically “the Sanctity of Unborn Life Amendment” adopted in 2018, which states:
a. This state acknowledges, declares, and affirms that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life.
b. This state further acknowledges, declares, and affirms that it is the public policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child in all manners and measures lawful and appropriate.
Pro-Life Wisconsin has long proclaimed the personhood of all human beings, especially the preborn.
Why is this important for Wisconsin? The Alabama Constitution and the LePage ruling are a blueprint to establish Personhood for preborn babies in Wisconsin and all states. The precedent set by the defense for preborn babies as persons in Alabama gives a clear path to victory for the babies in Wisconsin. For more than 15 years, Pro-Life Wisconsin and the national Personhood Alliance have been working to get our Wisconsin state constitution amended to establish Personhood for Wisconsin preborn children. The Alabama Supreme Court decision gives us new insight and new hope that supports our position that Personhood is the answer to fully protecting all human life. Our backs are up against the wall, but we will continue to fight until our babies are protected under the law, whether they are inside or outside the womb, and we will do our best to protect them all.
As a footnote to the Alabama story, it is important to state that Pro-Life Wisconsin stands in prayerful sympathy with married couples who have trouble conceiving a baby naturally. However, Pro-Life Wisconsin stands firmly against IVF. Children are a gift from God, not a right. No one has the right to experiment in the creation of human life. In addition, many of the embryos conceived through IVF meet their deaths discarded as lab waste, perishing in failed implantation, or even being killed in selective reduction abortions after implantation. Couples struggling with infertility have other, life-affirming options such as NaProTECHNOLOGY (Natural Procreative Technology) which is used right here in Wisconsin at the St. Gianna Clinic in De Pere and Our Lady of Hope Clinic in Middleton, where miracles are happening every day.