The next political season is gearing up here in Alabama as candidates are announcing their political aspirations and asking for our votes. This season we are voting on a United States Senate seat, governor, lieutenant governor, Supreme Court justice, secretary of state, attorney general, and several more important positions in state government.
Most of us who get a sick or nerdy pleasure in watching the political season unfold are always looking for the major themes or issues that will be discussed by the candidates and used to boost their numbers. This political season, the talking point seems to be IVF, and it’s a cheap shot that tells you just about everything you need to know about the candidate.
When I hear a candidate brandish the IVF issue like some gotcha, all I can think is, “Tell me you didn’t read the case without telling me you didn’t read the case.”
So far, the IVF talking point is being used by the attorney general candidates who are opposing Jay Mitchell, one of the justices who ruled on the recent high-profile IVF case, and by one lawyer running for Supreme Court justice. That’s not a good look for lawyers vying to be Alabama’s top lawyers.
Admittedly, IVF is a hot-button issue. IVF helps create life, and we love that. But the controversial case in question did not in any way, shape, form or fashion ban IVF. What it did was give personhood and consequence to the embryos created by IVF. You know, the embryos that parents paid thousands of dollars to create and which hold all their hopes and dreams for parenthood? Those same tiny humans are lives. A parent who loses one such lovingly and scientifically created human has a right to compensation for lost life when the clinic charged with protecting these lives neglects to protect them.
It’s a pretty uncontroversial take. Anyone who has gone through IVF knows how hard it is to get to the point where those embryos are even made. The couple pays thousands of dollars and goes through all kinds of hormone shots and procedures. It’s a hard process. And they deserve their babies to be protected.
The Court ruled that IVF clinics whose negligence allegedly causes the destruction of these embryos could be liable for wrongful death instead of simple loss of property. That’s the difference between the loss of a person versus the loss of a car. You recover a lot more, and the dignity of life is recognized.
So, how did this case become a weapon? Is it because the case was bad? No! It’s because the reaction was bad. When the opinion was released, the IVF clinics decided they didn’t want to be liable for the loss of these babies, so they shut down and didn’t allow IVF to continue. It was the IVF clinics’ fault, all because they didn’t want to take reasonable precautions to protect these hard-fought, paid-for, and loved embryos.
The Supreme Court even provided clinics with a blueprint for protecting themselves and outlined procedures to follow, based on the practices of most other Westernized countries. America is one of the only countries that does not protect these embryos, but frankly, it throws them away or to the wind.
So now, after reading this, you apparently know more about the IVF issue in Alabama than these supposed lawyers using fear tactics while running for Alabama attorney general and Supreme Court justice. It was a property case turned to a wrongful death case.
These candidates are banking on your lack of information. They think that you, the average citizen, are not a lawyer. You won’t know the difference.
The alternative is that they choose to be ignorant themselves, not reading the case but riding the hype.
Either way, it’s not a good look for a candidate, and it’s highly insulting to voters.
Keep watching these races. I have no idea who Steve Marshall will be replaced by. And I have no idea who will run for Supreme Court justice and attorney general. But I know that if that candidate tries to pull the IVF card, they deserve your derision, not your vote. You’re smarter than they are.
Laura Clark is a wife, mother, and community activist. She currently serves as the interim president of Alabama Center for Law and Liberty, a conservative nonprofit law firm that fights for limited government, free markets, and strong families in the courts. Anything written by Laura for this publication does not constitute legal advice.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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