Embryos Are Ruled "Children"; Risks and Opportunities

WASHINGTON - March 11, 2024 - PRLog -- The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen fertilized embryos are legally "children".

As public interest law professor John Banzhaf explained in a legal article more than a year ago, fetal personhood laws, which are already in effect in more than a third of all states and which give fetuses - and embryos - all the legal rights of a living person, can create many serious problems going far beyond concerns about IVF.
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He explains that some medical groups have argued that recognizing fetuses and embryos as persons could criminalize IUDs and other methods of contraception; that disposing of unused fertilized eggs, or selectively eliminating implanted eggs (as is common), could result in charges of homicide including even murder; and that women who use certain drugs during pregnancy can face up to 99 years in prison.

Just such a law has been upheld by Texas' highest criminal court of appeals, allowing the state to prosecute individuals who cause the "death of or injury to an unborn child."  Under it, a man was imprisoned for life without parole after being found guilty of capital murder after a jury concluded that he caused the death of his ex-wife's 5-week old fetus.

But, notes Banzhaf, one of the unexpected and little reported consequences of the ruling is that it may also create opportunities for some who may try to take advantage.

For example, federal tax law provides for a child tax credit, with the amount per child of $1,800 for 2023 taxes filed in 2024, and even more thereafter.  States often have similar tax breaks to encourage procreation.

In Georgia, for example, fetuses are already eligible for tax credits and child support.  They are also counted as people for the purposes of redistricting - which could result in under counts for states which do not recognize embryo personhood.

Some government programs provide for a child and dependent care tax credit which can help pay for those who care for the frozen embryos.

There are also many governmental welfare or assistance programs for persons with children including: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIPS); the Women, Infants, and Children welfare program; CAXFP, and others.

Professor Banzhaf notes that this ruling create many serious legal and other problems which cannot easily by resolved by resort to legal precedents.

Indeed, many consequences of the growing personhood movement which could not even have been imagined 10 years ago - much less in the 1960s when Banzhaf first wrote about them - have now occurred,

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf